Toxic wood preservatives are covered by the Poison Act (No. 309/69). The act came into force in May 1969 and was supplemented by the Statute on Poisons (No. 612/69). The act and the statute contain the regulations on the production, commerce and handling of poisons. Already when issued they were complained to contain some defects and obscurities. However, only minor alteration in them have been made since then. A new act has been under preparation for many years, but this work will hardly be completed in the nearest future. The Pesiticide Act ( No. 327/69) was issued simultaneously with the Poison Act. Pesticides are preparations that are used for prevention and eradication of vegetable and animal pests in agriculture, forestry and households. The preparations for treatments and protection of timber are included, except for the preservatives for sawn timber and other wood products. Wood preservatives, that are used for protection of round wood in storage thus belong under the pesticide legislation while all the others are covered by the Poison Act. The limitis, however, somewhat obscure, for instance in the case of preservatives that contain insecticides.

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