Creosote has been used for over 150 years for preservation of heavy duty industrial timbers such as railway sleepers, utility poles, and agricultural posts. The regulatory regimes in place today across Europe (eg EU & GB Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)) require a detailed assessment of the environmental and human health properties of wood preservatives at both the active substance and product levels. Creosote is currently authorised for use in Europe but is now facing further restrictions at the reauthorisation stage which will severely limit its applications. A number of alternatives to the use of creosote treated wood exist in the form of alternative materials such as steel, concrete and polymers / composites. Another alternative is use of wood treated with water-based copper-organic preservatives where service life expectations less than that delivered today by creosote are accepted in some markets. However more recently wood treated products that are designed to deliver a long service life have become available. One such product is Tanasote S40®, which is authorised under the BPR which does not contain creosote and is suitable as a preservative for heavy duty industrial timbers.

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