Working party 2.5 on International Standardisation has set the development of a unified hazard class system as a short-term objective. This document is intended to stimulate the discussion required to work towards such a system. Two possible approaches are discussed, the compromise approach and the development of a basic system from first principles. For the second approach, the factors impacting on durability of wood products are examined and three factors are selected to define hazard classes. All three increase in number or severity with increasing hazard class. They are: the sources of moisture and nutrients and the inoculum potential of the primary biodeterioration agents. These describe the potential for a biodeterioration hazard. A unified international hazard class system is proposed.

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