Decay problems of spruce joinery in the Netherlands in the 1960's and 1970's led to the introduction of preservative treatment. Because of the known penetration difficulties with Spruce, the results of the treatments were not always successful. The fact that the decay was found only in the joints led to development of the philosophy of "local preservation" of the joints in remedial and preventative treatments, like preservative injections or use of rods and capsules containing preservatives. However the diffusion of the preservatives used in most of these systems is often poor in spruce. Because Spruce joinery dip-treated with bifluorides showed good penetration and protection, a pill consisting of a hydrophylic polymer and bifluorides was developed by TNO. Various laboratory tests carried out with this pill have confirmed good penetration of the bifluorides in the wood and activity against decay fungi.

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