A heavy discussion about the status of chromium-containing compounds in wood preservatives has ensued in the European Union since the Biocidal Product Directive 98/8/EG has come into force.The origin of this discussion is the fact that according to the Biocidal Product Directive chromium trioxide and sodium dichromate have been identified as active ingredients and therefore the placement of wood preservatives containing chromium oxide or sodium dichromate on the market is not allowed after September 1, 2006. In a scientific sense, this is only then valid if the chromium compounds are explicitly to be classified as active ingredients. Chromium compounds were previously considered to be fixatives for the biocides used in conventional chromium-containing salts, particularly for copper. Due to this discussion “active ingredient or not an active ingredient (fixative)”, the European Commission recommended that this question should be answered in a case by case decision based on the data of the products. (European Commission 2005). The verification of which function (active ingredient or not an active ingredient) an individual compound has in a wood preservative formulation is much more complex than the verification of the efficacy of the wood preservative itself. Based on the recommendations of the Commission, research projects were initiated which examined the role of chromium compounds in defined wood preservative salts using a frame-formulation

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