Refinement of emission values for preserved wood in the ‘Storage Scenario’, for use in the environmental risk assessment of Wood Preservatives under the Biocidal Products Directive

IRG/WP 07-50244

E F Baines

The evaluation of an active substance or a biocidal product under the Biocidal Products Directive (BPD) requires that an environmental risk assessment is carried out. The risk assessment for wood preservatives includes a scenario for the treated wood in storage after treatment, in which the predicted environmental concentration (PEC) in soil, surface water and groundwater is calculated, using emission values for the active substance from the treated wood. This document describes experiments to measure the emission of active substances from treated timber in storage, using a commercially sized pack of treated timber exposed outdoors, to natural rainfall. The scenario is critically examined and the experimental data presented which demonstrates that the parameters and the assumptions of the scenario are incorrect. Realistic values, based on the measured data, are proposed: the ‘realistic worst case’ for emission from a pack of timber in storage is 0.0028 % of the initial quantity in the wood. Refinements of the scenario are proposed, for use in the Product Authorisation stage of the BPD.


Keywords: environmental risk assessment, BPD, storage, emission

Conference: 07-05-20/24 Jackson, USA


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