The practicability of 2 CEN proposals for OECD guidelines on the estimation of emissions from preservative treated wood by laboratory methods for either wood held in storage after treatment and for wooden commodities that are not covered, and are not in contact with ground (guideline 1) or wooden commodities that are not covered and are in contact with ground, fresh water or seawater (guideline 2) was tested during a research project in Germany. The influence of several test parameters was investigated for different types of preservatives, i.e. duration of the dipping time for guideline 1 experiments as well as size and surface structure of the specimens, comparability with EN 84 experiments and the influence of the ratio of the water volume per emitting surface area in guideline 2 experiments. Parallel tests in two laboratories allow the assessment of the repeatability of the laboratory tests. The results of the experiments with a solvent based preservative containing propiconazole are presented and compared with experiences from field experiments. The emissions were lower if less water was available per surface area and time. Different specimens yielded similar losses per surface area and the results from leaching experiments according to EN 84 were similar to the results from guideline 2 experiments. Emission rates and total losses can be estimated according to the calculation model of the OECD ESD for Wood Preservatives. Calculated data fit the experimental data. Emission rates of propiconazole estimated in guideline 2 experiments were generally higher than losses by natural rain. Minimum emission rates in these experiments were similar to the maximum values estimated in the field experiment. Losses by guideline 1 experi¬ments were in the range of the field data.

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