Your search resulted in 573 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Wood preservation in Kenya
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40191
Current research on wood preservation in Kenya is mainly on the development of biological control of wood-destroying termite species, using mycoinsecticides. The major research institutions include the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Moi University and the International Centre for Insect Physiology (ICIPE). Training institutions include Fore...
G Ochiel
Wood preservation in Turkey
1982 - IRG/WP 3216
The report reviews the forestry potential of Turkey and also the historical background of wood preservation in the country. The wood preservation industry in Turkey is mainly concentrated on the treatment of poles and railway sleepers. There is no official body responsible for wood preservation activities, and therefore its promotion depends mainly on the voluntary research efforts carried out by ...
R Ilhan, R Cockcroft
IRG/COIPM INTERNATIONAL MARINE TEST - to determine the effect of timber substrate on the effectiveness of water-borne salt preservatives in sea-water. Progress Report 9: Report of third inspection (2 years) in Italy
1980 - IRG/WP 461
The wood samples were submerged in the sea at Follonica, Italy, in April 1977. Follonica, latitudine 42°55' North and longitude 10°45' East, is situated on the Tyrrhenian sea. The recorded temperature varies between 13°C to 25°C, salinity 37-38% and pH about 8. The inspections were carried out after 6 months (10/1977), 1 year (4/1978) and 2 years (4/1979)....
A Gambetta, E Orlandi
IRG/COIPM INTERNATIONAL MARINE TEST - to determine the effect of timber substrate on the effectiveness of water-borne salt preservatives in sea-water. Progress Report 7: Second report on the samples in Papua New Guinea
1980 - IRG/WP 459
This report presents the findings to date regarding specimens installed in Papua New Guinea, as part of a world-wide marine trial of certain timbers treated with CCA or CCB preservatives. The details of the trial are set out in document number IRG/WP/414. The report discusses the findings in the context of the conditions prevailing at the trial site and of the properties of the trial timbers. The ...
S M Cragg, C R Levy
Results of field tests on the natural durability of timber (1932-1975)
1976 - IRG/WP 3105
This paper describes a continuing field stake trial to determine the natural resistance of different species of timber to decay. Data are presented for about 180 timbers, covering over 6000 stakes, and the results are discussed in terms of a natural durability classification....
D W Purslow
Recycling of impregnated timber: Part 2: Combustion trial
1999 - IRG/WP 99-50132
Totally 270 m3 (61,3 t) of CCA impregnated wood was chipped and incinerated at the combustion plant of Jalasjärvi. After the normal gas cleaning venture scrubbers were tested. After the trial a metal balance was calculated. Ash was treated at the copper smelter of Outokumpu Harjavalta Metals Oy. Condensate waters were transfered to the Outokumpu's CCA production plant and utilized by the...
L Lindroos
Wood preservation in Thailand
1983 - IRG/WP 3265
The report gives a background to Thailand and its timber resources, production and consumption. The history of wood preservation in the country and its modern industrial development are described. Its 19 preservation plants are listed and the production figures of the two major ones given. The wood preservatives in use are noted and the costs of treating a railway sleeper in three different ways c...
A Rananand, R Cockcroft
Sustainability Through New Technologies for Enhanced Wood Durability. COST Action E37 – A New Action in the Forestry Domain
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40293
The main overall objective of the action is to concentrate on the contribution of wood durability on the sustainability through the development of systems for quality assurance and perfoamance of modified wood and wood products as alternatives to wood treated with traditional preservatives. By this means it seeks to improve and consequently increase the cost-effective use of sustainably produced E...
R-D Peek
IRG/COIPM INTERNATIONAL MARINE TEST - to determine the effect of timber substrate on the effectiveness of water-borne salt preservatives in sea-water. Progress Report 20: Report on the inspection of specimens at Sekondi, Ghana after 48 months
1985 - IRG/WP 4116
The results of the second inspection of CCA- and CCB-treated test panels exposed at Sekondi, Ghana, in June 1980, are presented. The panels of Pinus sylvestris treated with 3% CCA are stil unattacked after 48 months. Panels treated with 10% CCA and still in test (Fagus sylvatica, Pinus sylvestris and Alstonia scholaris) are still free of attack. Locol species treated with 3% CCB have all been dest...
F F K Ampong, N Asare-Nyadu
Novel wood modification processes for window and cladding products
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40285
Because of the low natural durability and low dimensional stability of European wood species, the usage of wood for window frames has decreased dramatically during the last decade. In a joint project of several German research institutes and the window industry, following wood modification systems were compared.
heat treatment (3 different materials from 2 companies)
acetylation (pine sapwood an...
A Krause, C Hof, H Militz
Final report on world survey of sap displacement impregnation of timber
1975 - IRG/WP 345
The present contribution to the World Survey of Sap Displacement Impregnation of Timber covers the information received since the presentation of the interim report to the 6th Annual Meeting of the International Research Group on Wood Preservation held in Vienna, 20th June 1974....
F B Shorland, C G W Mason
The Biocidal Products Directive ( 98/8/EC ) - its consequences for the wood preservation industry
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-04
1. The Current Position
This European Union Directive is one of the most technically complex pieces of legislation that has been developed by the European Commission (EC). Although the Directive was to have been implemented in the legislation of individual Member States of the EU by May 2000 progress has been slow. A number of Member States have yet to declare the Competent Authority who will handle their legislation. The body text of the Directive cannot stand-alone and is dependent on ancillary regulations and the development of technical guidance for both the Competent Authorities in the Member States and also industry to understand their roles in the whole process for the regulation of biocides and the biocidal products containing them. The process is far from complete in terms of a piece of workable legislation and this leaves not only industry but also the Competent Authorities with significant areas of uncertainty. This is potentially economically and socially damaging to the marketing and use of biocides and biocidal products. Because of this evolutionary process this paper can only be written in general terms as by the time the symposium takes place some significant changes to the position at the time of writing may have occurred.
2. Background
The Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC), (BPD), is a directive which requires that biocides ( as active substances) are approved for use within the EU and the individual biocidal products containing these active substances are approved for use by the Competent Authority(s) of the Member State(s) in which it is intended to market the product. The product authorisation obtained in the first Member State should be mutually recognised by the other Member States in which application for authorisation to place the product on the market is sought. The Directive has to be seen in the context various other Directives, notably the Plant Protection Directive 91/414/EC). Biocidal products are grouped in the directive into twenty three "product types" and wood preservatives are Product Type 8. The intention of the directive is to harmonise the requirements for the placing of biocidal products and active ingredients on the market throughout the EU. EU wide use of so-called Common Principles are intended to be used to assess the dossiers in order to achieve a common approach and eliminate the current situation where individual Member States apply their own particular national approaches and criteria in the assessment and regulation of products . Annex IIA of the directive identifies the data requirements for the active substance and Annex II B for the biocidal product. There are additional data requirements identified in Annexes IIIA and IIIB for each product type reflecting potential for exposure to man and the environment.
3. Entry onto Annex I
Any new active substance will require approval before it or any biocidal products including it can be placed on the market. The dossier to be submitted to the EC will have to include additional data and risk assessments for the product types (as defined in the BPD) in which it will be intended to be used. For those active substances that are accepted as being existing substances on the market before May 2000 (say in wood preservatives) these will be ranked and prioritised. This process is being defined in the so-called: Review Regulations.
4. An environmental directive
There is no doubt that this Directive has a high environmental content in terms of the data and the associated risk assessments which are to be prepared. The protocols and the end points for some of these data requirements are still being developed. In general the EC considers that modelling exposure using human and environmental exposure scenarios covering the end use of the product is an acceptable approach . Data are required to enable these scenarios to be modelled and risk assessments made. It is necessary that regulators do not make decisions based on hazard assessment alone in the absence of fully worked out and agreed emission scenarios to define exposure levels which generate a realistic worst case risk assessment. Risk is a function of both hazard and exposure. A lot of work has been done in the development of Technical Notes for Guidance intended to help the regulator and the applicant in the submission and the interpretation of the data. Whilst it may be the case that the human toxicity data requirements still leave questions to be answered it is in the environmental aspects part of the regulatory process where there is still much work to be done. The Directive would seem to rely heavily on the development of Pass / Fail criteria in simulation tests. This is a big subject and of key importance to the risk assessment.
5. Wood preservatives ---- a test case
Wood preservation has achieved a certain reputation. On the one hand it is said that a prime reason for the development of the Biocidal Products Directive arose from European problems in the regulation of the marketing and use of dangerous substances, notably wood preservatives. On the other hand because wood preservatives have been regulated by a number of Member States for many years it is believed they are well understood. The EC and the Member States also wanted to be seen to have achieved early success in the implementation of the Directive therefore the decision was taken to start, following failings with the speed of progress of the Plant Protection Products Directive, with a product type they knew all about i.e. wood preservatives. There is no doubt that there is a much greater understanding on the exposure scenarios, both human and environmental, for wood preservatives than many other product types. However, would it not have been better to have tackled some of the other product types where such an understanding is much less well developed? It is regrettable that the EC and Member States did not feel able to accept the results of an EC sponsored study (Haskoning report) on the assessment of risks for all the product types covered under the BPD. The results of this study clearly showed that wood preservatives did not constitute the most significant risk to man or the environment and in fact the risk was significantly greater for other product types.
6. Wood preservatives and the OECD Biocides Programme
Another speaker will be covering this subject in more detail. Suffice it to say that because of the perception there was good knowledge about wood preservatives again they were selected as the pilot for an OECD project looking at environmental and human exposure assessment under the OECD Biocides Programme. The findings from two OECD Workshops actually demonstrated there was still much to be learnt about wood preservatives in order to refine the risk assessments to a state where they would be sufficient for the requirements of the BPD. This work is ongoing but it clearly demonstrates the problems that both the regulator and industry will have in the preparation and the assessment of the dossiers for both the active substances and the biocidal products. This is especially the case for other biocidal products that have not been subject to the same kind of regulation that wood preservatives have subjected to in the past.
7. Inorganic and organic biocides
With current wood preservation technology there is still a dependence on inorganic chemicals such as copper (in conjunction with other biocides) or with chromium, as well as arsenic and boron for many end use applications. This is very much the case where a long term service life is a key factor in the use of treated wood for that end use. These substances are commodity chemicals and are also covered under the Existing Substances Regulations (EC) 1488/94. There is also work going on revising the Technical Notes for Guidance covering them . This includes a significant addition in the environmental risk assessment area. Efforts are being made to integrate and coordinate the requirements for both the BPD and the Existing Substances Regulations and OSPAR ( OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic). OSPAR refers to the Oslo Paris Convention. Whilst the BPD seems primarily aimed at the regulation of biocides based on organic chemicals wood preservative products may contain both inorganic and organic components. Indeed there are probably few wood preservative formulations on the market that contain only one active substance. This must have a significant impact on the way the dossiers are prepared for the active substance and the biocidal products and how they are assessed both at the EC and the Member State level.
8. Consequences of the BPD for the wood preservation industry
Whilst this paper addresses the consequences for the wood preservation industry per se, it must not be overlooked that there may be implications for the fabricaÈors of articles made from treated timber. Some current wood preservative formulations may over a period of time be withdrawn from the market because the risks and costs of generating the data and the preparation of the dossier make the product economically unviable. The presence of large working volumes of wood preservative solutions at treatment plants requires realistic withdrawal periods to avoid the unnecessary disposal and associated environmental risk of products that have been used satisfactorily for many years.
9. Availability of active substances
The structure of the industry has changed dramatically in the past few months and there is no doubt that other changes both within and outside the wood preservation industry itself are yet to happen. The original differentiation between formulator of wood preservatives and active substance suppliers to the wood preservation industry has become blurred. Some of the active substances used in wood preservation are used in other either other biocidal product types or in products regulated under another directive, e.g. Plant Protection Products Directive 91/414/EC.
10. Data protection
This continues to be a key issue for industry and some companies may find it strategically or financially necessary not to support an active substance in a particular product type thus leaving that sector without being able to use the active substance. The coming months will start to reveal which active substances are likely to be supported, at least through the notification process. Formulators are therefore in a close dialogue with their suppliers to try to determine their intentions on whether or not they intend to support their active substance. Today's wood preservative formulations are largely multi active substance based. Product costs, efficacy spectra, niche marketing and other considerations have made this process inevitable. New wood preservative formulations take time to research and develop and the continuity of availability of a choice of active substances is of key importance. A lack of adequate return on investment necessary to sustain the development of new products could have a negative impact on innovation and the rate of introduction of new products. It is extremely unlikely that any new active substance will be solely developed for use in wood preservation. This would be an effect contrary to expectations of the EC. The situation with wood preservatives is complicated by the fact that treated wood is a construction product and comes under the scope of the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) (CPD). Products under the scope of the CPD are required to meet certain so-called essential requirements and one of these is durability. Demonstration of compliance involves the extensive suite of CEN wood preservative efficacy tests. Even relatively small changes in formulations may require extensive re-testing under the EN 599 regime in some Member States.
11. Task Forces
Companies are encouraged by the EC to enter into Task Forces in order to reduce the burden of testing on animals and also to reduce the number of dossiers to be reviewed for each active substance. Ideally, and understandably, the EC would like one dossier per active substance. Parts of the wood preservation industry have been co-operating in Task Forces and much practical experience has been gained. Even closer co-operation will be required and this will enable companies to pool experience and expertise and manage their financial exposure to potentially high regulatory costs by sharing them amongst a larger number of parties.
12. Financial aspects
Industry will have to make some best guesses with respect to its investment programmes for supporting its portfolio of products. Formulators and active substance suppliers are likely to group into Task Forces in order to reduce their costs in terms of data generation and the fees likely to be charged at the EU and the Member State level for the assessment of the dossiers. The compilation of the dossiers requires specialist expertise to assist the industrial applicant(s). This is likely to cost in the order of £100,000 per active substance, not including the costs of generating any data. The Rapporteur State's costs for reviewing the dossier is also expected to be of the same order. Clearly these kinds of costs will impact on innovation. An adequate payback must be available to the company to justify this level of investment.
13. Will mutual recognition work?
Member States are required to recognise the authorisation of the biocidal product placed on the market in the first Member State when subsequent applications are made to place the product on the market. This is a fundamental principle of the BPD, although there is concern that Member States continue to have enough flexibility to prevent this happening if there are particular concerns in that Member State. Industry very much hopes this will not be the case and that mutual recognition, a fundamental principle of the BPD, will work in practice.
14. Environmental aspects
Biocidal products such as wood preservatives are generally applied in controlled situations and not over large areas. Consequently any emissions can be considered to be from discreet sources, such as treated timber or potentially from timber treatment plants. This is in contrast to plant protection products and some other biocidal products that are usually dispersed over a relatively large area. Because of this a lot of work is required to be done to re evaluate how the environmental aspects of biocidal products such as wood preservatives can be assessed in an objective manner. The criteria that define an emission and how the PEC (Predicted Environmental Concentration) for each environmental compartment is determined are critical. The wood preservation industry, through the EWPM (European Wood Preservative Manufacturers Group), has been working with institutes and other interested parties in a co-operation known as the EFG (Environment Focus Group) to progress the development of appropriate methodology. Data will be required for both primary and secondary exposure to treated timber. The protocols for this work are yet to be agreed. This work is being further progressed in the OECD together with input from CEN TC 38 WG27. This co-operation between the OECD and CEN is extremely significant in that it is, I believe, the first time such a co-operation has taken place in the development of an OECD Guideline. If one considers all of the end uses where treated timber may be found carrying out a risk assessment with few guidelines on how it should be done is a very uncertain process for both industry and the regulator. Reliance on so-called expert opinion may be inadequate.
15. Comparative assessment (the substitution principle)
This is a process whereby the health safety and environmental properties of acti_u101 ? substances used in the same product type could be compared and those with the most undesirable properties would not be placed on Annex I. Consequently biocidal products containing them would have to be removed from the market. This process is embodied in the BPD but it was initially considered that it would only be applied in the event of problems arising with active substances or products containing them rather than being used as a screening tool early on in the review process for active substances. This area is still an uncertain one with Member States having different interpretations of this principle. It is unfortunate that the wood preservation industry could be used to test out this concept at a European level. The consequences of this principle could be further losses of active substances available to the wood preservative formulators.
16. Substances of concern
The BPD is not only concerned with the active substances that are formulated into the biocidal product but also with so-called "substances of concern". These are defined as any substance, other than the active substance, which has the inherent capacity to cause an adverse effect on humans, animals or the environment and is present or is produced in a biocidal product in sufficient concentration to create such an effect. There are significant implications for the formulator of the biocidal product . The formulator may have to submit an extensive dossier containing toxicological and metabolic as well as ecological data on each of the substances of concern when seeking approval for the biocidal product. There may be classes of compounds that become unavailable to the formulator either because of the risks posed by the co-formulant or because the cost of generating data will be uneconomic.
17. The wood preservation Industry's view on the BPD
Industry has supported the development of the BPD since its conception in 1989. It is still supportive it but believes that the degree of complexity is disproportionate to the level of risk when it comes to wood preservatives. After all wood preservatives have been regulated for a long time and in reality there have been few significant health safety and environmental problems associated with them. Industry believes there is no need to determine an absolute understanding about a biocide and its application but rather there is a need to determine the level of understanding that will enable characterisation so that a risk assessment can be made. The wood preservation industry has sought either directly or through representative bodies a pro-active and collaborative approach with the regulators although at times this appears to have encouraged inappropriate demands. The regulators have invariably responded positively to this however they may not always understand the burden in both time and resource in having made wood preservatives the test case. Industry hopes that its efforts to be pro-active will be recognised and will be dealt with equitably when considered before the other product types defined in the Biocidal Products Directive.
D Aston
The potential for accelerated ageing to determine the persistence of active ingredients in timber
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20323
Fast screening methods for evaluating the persistence of active ingredients in timber are proposed. This is an outline proposal which is intended to provoke discussion and further development of the methods. Reliable and accurate analytical methods are key to these tests....
L D A Saunders, M R Powell
Chemical analysis for TBTN in LOSP-treated wood and preservative fluids
1994 - IRG/WP 94-20027
Tributyltin napthenate (TBTN) is being substituted for tributyltin oxide (TBTO) in LOSP preservative formulations because its lower reactivity/better stability allows co-formulation with synthetic pyrethroids. Better stability may reduce molecular degradation both in-service and during analysis. It was considered necessary to check whether TBTO analysis methods were suitable for use on TBTN treate...
D P Wraight, M J Kennedy
Preservative performance of copper naphthenate (SANPRESER-OGR) in brush treatment of timber
1991 - IRG/WP 3663
Preservative efficacy of copper naphthenate (SANPRESER-OGR) was evaluated in the laboartory and field trials when timber was treated by brushing. Results of field trial indicated that service life of the brush-treated timber could be approximately 10 years or longer under ground contact conditions, although life span was slightly varied with timber species and test sites. After four years&apos...
Y Sugai, K Hamada, M Kitada, K Tomoi
IRG/COIPM INTERNATIONAL MARINE TEST - to determine the effect of timber substrate on the effectiveness of water-borne salt preservatives in sea-water. Progress Report 4: Report of second inspection (12 months) in Australia
1979 - IRG/WP 448
Previous reports have presented full details of the treatment and installation of the test specimens in Sydney Harbour during December, 1977, and of the results of the first (6 months) inspection made during June, 1978. At the June inspection it was apparent that the plastic tubing used to make up the frames from which to suspend the specimens was inadequate for the job and not strong enough to su...
J Beesley
Leaching of CCA preservative from treated timber in marine environment
2001 - IRG/WP 01-30254
Knowledge on the amount of preservatives leaching out of treated wood is essential to optimise the chemical loading in various species of timber required for different end uses. In order to gain more insight into this aspect, the residual CCA content in 40 treated timber panels belonging to 14 species removed on destruction by marine organisms from a series of durability tests conducted in Kochi w...
M V Rao, V Kuppusamy, K S Rao, L N Santhakumaran
Japanese Classification of Wooden Building Members for ISO Use Classes according to the Building Code in Japan.
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20337
Because of the international approve of use class system for the biological degradation of wood by ISO/DIS 21887 and ISO/DIS 21892, Japanese committee of ISO/TC165/SC1 asked to the JWPA for classify the wooden commodities by use class of these draft ISO. The JWPA was prepared a draft use class model in Japan. Japanese building code systems are described and Japanese draft use class system is also ...
K Suzuki
An Open Letter to Proponents of CLT/Massive Timber
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40755
We present an Open Letter that discusses the need to address the potential for biodeterioration in CLT/Massive timber structure. We invite members to review and sign the document. We also welcome suggestions for potential recipients....
A Taylor, J Lloyd, T Shelton
An Historical Roof Timber System in the Old Town of Berlin-Spandau
2019 - IRG/WP 19-10949
In Europe the “Charter of Venice” was enacted on the 31st of May 1964. It is the international directive for the preservation of historic buildings and monuments. All countries in Europe now involve professional wood scientists and engineers in maintaining and preserving historical buildings. Here we discuss a restoration project involving 17th century roof timbering. This project may be used ...
M Luke, W Unger, D Nellessen
Natural resistance of different species of timber to marine borer attack in the Trondheimsfjord (Western Norway)
1978 - IRG/WP 435
Natural resistance of 34 timber species to marine wood-borers has been discussed, based on data collected from panels immersed in selected localities in the Trondheimsfjord during 1977-78. The wood-borers encountered on the panels were Psiloteredo megotara, Xylophaga dorsalis, Xylophaga praestans and Limnoria lignorum. The number of borers present and their growth were taken as the criterion for a...
L N Santhakumaran, J A Sneli
The yeast Pichia sp. As a short-term biological control agent to fungal spoilage of sawn softwood timber
2000 - IRG/WP 00-10362
Previous work has found isolates of the yeast Pichia to be a successful biological control agent toward moulding of fruits. An isolate was tested for the ability to protect sapwood of Pinus sylvestris timber against visual degrade by surface growth of moulds and staining fungi. Successful protection of autoclaved wood sprayed with a mixture of common wood moulding fungi was achieved when the yeast...
C Payne, H J Staines, A Bruce
Changes to New Zealand Timber Treatment Specifications
2004 - IRG/WP 04-20288
Changes have been made to the New Zealand timber treatment specifications in response to frequent incidences of decay in framing timber and doubts about the long-term performance of tributyltin formulations when used in exposed situations.
Changes have been made to Hazard Class H1 to allow a level of treatment to provide short to medium decay resistance to framing which would protect it, should l...
M E Hedley
Waste management of wood products in life cycle assessment
2000 - IRG/WP 00-50154
Within the framework of the European project LIFE SYS WOOD (contractnr. FAIR CT95-7026) TNO has performed a study on the waste management of wood demolition waste for inclusion in Life Cycle Assessment. In LIFE SYS WOOD one of the main aims was to develop a consistent LCA methodology for wood products. LCA case studies have been performed by partners on wood as raw material, glulam contructions, O...
P Esser, P Eggels, A Voss
Incursion of Hylotrupes bajulus Linnaeus (European House Borer) into Western Australia
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10558
In January 2004, an adult Hylotrupes bajulus Linnaeus was detected emerging from a beam of Pinus pinaster in a house in Perth, Western Australia. The timber had been locally grown and milled. Surveys to define the extent of the infestation show it is restricted to dead pine trees in 28 sites around Perth. The biological and economic feasibility of eradication is being assessed. Since about 2001, k...
M Grimm