Your search resulted in 344 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Determination of the preventive efficacy against wood destroying basidiomycetes fungi, EN V 839 - CEN/TC 38 WG 9
1993 - IRG/WP 93-20015
The WG 9 of CEN TC/38 has presented to EC a mycological test to assess efficacy of preservatives applied by surface process. This method is now an experimental standard (EN V 839) which has to be approved by the different european delegations. The following paper is not the standard as it has been proposed but is a presentation of the principle of the method. The experimental standard specifies a ...
D Dirol
La rôle de l'expert dans l'évaluation toxicologique
1990 - IRG/WP 3589
C Boudene
Protocols for assessment and approval of wood preservatives in the Nordic countries
1994 - IRG/WP 94-20046
This paper reviews the protocols presently in use in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) for assessment and approval of wood preservatives with respect to their biocidal efficacy....
J Jermer, B Henningsson
Performance of untreated French Guianan piling in marine exposure
1992 - IRG/WP 92-4173
Round piling of seven French Guianan species, greenheart, and preservativ-treated Southern Pine were installed as fender piling in Key West, FL. After 12½ years, none of the tropical hardwoods performed as well as dual-treated Southern Pine. Of the hardwoods, kouata patou and maho noir were the most resistant to decay and marine borers....
B R Johnson
Vertical distribution of fouling and wood-boring organisms in the Trondheimsfjord (Western Norway)
1981 - IRG/WP 467
Results of a detailed study on the vertical distribution of fouling and wood-boring organisms of Trondheimsfjord at an interval of 3 m from intertidal level to a depth of 30 m, has been presented, based on data collected from two series of panels, exposed from 15 March 1977 to 15 July 1977 (Series I) and from 22 July 1977 to 13 March 1978 (Series II). The intensity of fouling generally decreased w...
L N Santhakumaran
Corrosion of fasteners in heat-treated wood – progress report after two years’ exposure outdoors
2005 - IRG/WP 05-40296
The corrosion of common fastener materials now in use - mild steel, zinc-coated steel, aluminium and Sanbond Z-coated steel – has been evaluated after two years’ exposure outdoors in untreated and heat-treated spruce (Picea abies) respectively.
Spruce from South-western Sweden was used. The heat-treatment was carried out in Finland according to the ThermoWood process at a maximum temperature ...
J Jermer, B-L Andersson
Assessment of losses of wood preservatives from treated wood by leaching into the environment
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-13
Wood preservative chemicals may be lost from treated timber by leaching into water or soil. The degree to which this might occur and its effect on the environment is difficult to assess quantitatively due to the absence of appropriate test methods. This paper describes work to assess test methodology capable of allowing the rates of loss of wood preservative from treated timber to be quantified. T...
R J Orsler, G E Holland
Depletion of wood preservatives after four years' marine exposure in Mt. Maunganui harbour, NZ
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50036
This paper reports on chemical analysis of marine test samples exposed in Mt. Maunganui harbour, New Zealand from 1977 to 1981. Depletion data for a Class II CCA, a CCA-A formulation, acid copper chromate and ammoniacal copper arsenate are presented. The results suggest differences in the rate of loss of individual preservative components among the four formulations and redistribution of individua...
K J Archer, A F Preston, C M Chittenden, D R Page
Quantitative assessment of field specimens. A proposal for discussion
1980 - IRG/WP 2143
H Friis-Hansen
Soil-bed studies (Part 3): A cause of failure of multisalt preservatives following soil-bed exposure
1983 - IRG/WP 3261
P Vinden, J F Levy, D J Dickinson
Programme section 2, Test methodology and assessment
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20094
IRG Secretariat
Protecting wooden structures
1980 - IRG/WP 392
Chromium-containing chemicals that effectively retard weathering of wood improve performance of subsequently applied finishes. Current work is focusing on the performance of wood-derived products (plywood, hardboard, fiberboard, particle board) after surface treatment with inorganic chemicals. The overall objective of the continuing research is to investigate new environmentally safe procedures to...
W C Feist
An in-ground natural durability field test of Australian timbers and exotic reference species. Part 2: Progress report after approximately 13 years' exposure
1983 - IRG/WP 1189
The condition of heartwood specimens of Australian and exotic timber species after approximately 13 years' in-ground exposure is given. Four of the 5 test sites have a termite hazard in addition to the hazard from a range of decay fungi. Values for specimen life are given only where all replicates of a timber species have become unserviceable. Results give evidence leading to doubt about ...
J D Thornton, G C Johnson, I W Saunders
Evaluation of wood treated with copper-based preservatives for Cu loss during exposure to heat and copper-tolerant Bacillus licheniformis
1999 - IRG/WP 99-20155
Copper-based wood preservatives need to be effective against exposure to all types of microorganisms. Wood treated with six copper-based preservatives was exposed to 121°C and 20 psi pressure for 15 minutes under standard autoclave conditions and the copper-tolerant bacterium, Bacillus licheniformis CC01, for 10 d at 28°C and 150 rpm. Sixteen to 37 percent of the copper was released from the woo...
D M Crawford, C A Clausen
Short term preconditioning of preservative-treated wood in soil contact in relation to performance in field trials
2000 - IRG/WP 00-20185
The effect of pre-exposure to primary colonising micro-organisms on preservative-treated wood, prior to a basidiomycete decay test, was determined by preconditioning in two soil types. Scots pine EN 113 blocks treated with 3 model systems (a triazole, a copper quaternary compound and a copper boron triazole) were leached according to EN 84 and subjected to 6 weeks and 8 weeks burial in either John...
S Molnar, D J Dickinson
Reliability-based service life prediction methodology for assessment of water protection efficiency for coatings on wood
2003 - IRG/WP 03-20268
Assessment of water protection efficiency according to EN 927-5 has been shown to give significant differences in water absorption values for different types of coatings on wood. It is shown that the combination of EN 927-5 and an artificial weathering procedure gives more information regarding expected durability and long-term performance than a single measurement of water absorption on fresh, un...
J Ekstedt
Programme Section 2 Test methodology and assessment
1999 - IRG/WP 99-20180
IRG Secretariat
Use of the Pilodyn to assess deterioration of treated aspen waferboard after 30 months of outdoor exposure
1986 - IRG/WP 2254
Samples of preservative treated aspen waferboard exposed outdoors for 30 mo. were compared using pin penetrations of the 6 Joule Pilodyn. These results correlated well with rankings of treatment performance based on more laborious standard mechanical tests, and demonstrate the potential for use of the Pilodyn as a tool to evaluate wood composites in test exposures with minimal destruction....
E L Schmidt, M G Dietz
Questionnaire concerning assessment of test data from laboratory and field tests
1992 - IRG/WP 92-2418
During the WG II session in Harrogate, UK it was announced, that possibly a working-session on the assessment of test data and correlation between laboratory and field tests might be organised during next year's meeting in Orlando. For that pupose a questionnaire was prepared. The valuable comments and input of Prof. Thomas Nilsson from Sweden is hereby greatly acknowledged....
A R Valcke
The Biocidal Products Directive ( 98/8/EC ) - its consequences for the wood preservation industry
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-04
1. The Current Position
This European Union Directive is one of the most technically complex pieces of legislation that has been developed by the European Commission (EC). Although the Directive was to have been implemented in the legislation of individual Member States of the EU by May 2000 progress has been slow. A number of Member States have yet to declare the Competent Authority who will handle their legislation. The body text of the Directive cannot stand-alone and is dependent on ancillary regulations and the development of technical guidance for both the Competent Authorities in the Member States and also industry to understand their roles in the whole process for the regulation of biocides and the biocidal products containing them. The process is far from complete in terms of a piece of workable legislation and this leaves not only industry but also the Competent Authorities with significant areas of uncertainty. This is potentially economically and socially damaging to the marketing and use of biocides and biocidal products. Because of this evolutionary process this paper can only be written in general terms as by the time the symposium takes place some significant changes to the position at the time of writing may have occurred.
2. Background
The Biocidal Products Directive (98/8/EC), (BPD), is a directive which requires that biocides ( as active substances) are approved for use within the EU and the individual biocidal products containing these active substances are approved for use by the Competent Authority(s) of the Member State(s) in which it is intended to market the product. The product authorisation obtained in the first Member State should be mutually recognised by the other Member States in which application for authorisation to place the product on the market is sought. The Directive has to be seen in the context various other Directives, notably the Plant Protection Directive 91/414/EC). Biocidal products are grouped in the directive into twenty three "product types" and wood preservatives are Product Type 8. The intention of the directive is to harmonise the requirements for the placing of biocidal products and active ingredients on the market throughout the EU. EU wide use of so-called Common Principles are intended to be used to assess the dossiers in order to achieve a common approach and eliminate the current situation where individual Member States apply their own particular national approaches and criteria in the assessment and regulation of products . Annex IIA of the directive identifies the data requirements for the active substance and Annex II B for the biocidal product. There are additional data requirements identified in Annexes IIIA and IIIB for each product type reflecting potential for exposure to man and the environment.
3. Entry onto Annex I
Any new active substance will require approval before it or any biocidal products including it can be placed on the market. The dossier to be submitted to the EC will have to include additional data and risk assessments for the product types (as defined in the BPD) in which it will be intended to be used. For those active substances that are accepted as being existing substances on the market before May 2000 (say in wood preservatives) these will be ranked and prioritised. This process is being defined in the so-called: Review Regulations.
4. An environmental directive
There is no doubt that this Directive has a high environmental content in terms of the data and the associated risk assessments which are to be prepared. The protocols and the end points for some of these data requirements are still being developed. In general the EC considers that modelling exposure using human and environmental exposure scenarios covering the end use of the product is an acceptable approach . Data are required to enable these scenarios to be modelled and risk assessments made. It is necessary that regulators do not make decisions based on hazard assessment alone in the absence of fully worked out and agreed emission scenarios to define exposure levels which generate a realistic worst case risk assessment. Risk is a function of both hazard and exposure. A lot of work has been done in the development of Technical Notes for Guidance intended to help the regulator and the applicant in the submission and the interpretation of the data. Whilst it may be the case that the human toxicity data requirements still leave questions to be answered it is in the environmental aspects part of the regulatory process where there is still much work to be done. The Directive would seem to rely heavily on the development of Pass / Fail criteria in simulation tests. This is a big subject and of key importance to the risk assessment.
5. Wood preservatives ---- a test case
Wood preservation has achieved a certain reputation. On the one hand it is said that a prime reason for the development of the Biocidal Products Directive arose from European problems in the regulation of the marketing and use of dangerous substances, notably wood preservatives. On the other hand because wood preservatives have been regulated by a number of Member States for many years it is believed they are well understood. The EC and the Member States also wanted to be seen to have achieved early success in the implementation of the Directive therefore the decision was taken to start, following failings with the speed of progress of the Plant Protection Products Directive, with a product type they knew all about i.e. wood preservatives. There is no doubt that there is a much greater understanding on the exposure scenarios, both human and environmental, for wood preservatives than many other product types. However, would it not have been better to have tackled some of the other product types where such an understanding is much less well developed? It is regrettable that the EC and Member States did not feel able to accept the results of an EC sponsored study (Haskoning report) on the assessment of risks for all the product types covered under the BPD. The results of this study clearly showed that wood preservatives did not constitute the most significant risk to man or the environment and in fact the risk was significantly greater for other product types.
6. Wood preservatives and the OECD Biocides Programme
Another speaker will be covering this subject in more detail. Suffice it to say that because of the perception there was good knowledge about wood preservatives again they were selected as the pilot for an OECD project looking at environmental and human exposure assessment under the OECD Biocides Programme. The findings from two OECD Workshops actually demonstrated there was still much to be learnt about wood preservatives in order to refine the risk assessments to a state where they would be sufficient for the requirements of the BPD. This work is ongoing but it clearly demonstrates the problems that both the regulator and industry will have in the preparation and the assessment of the dossiers for both the active substances and the biocidal products. This is especially the case for other biocidal products that have not been subject to the same kind of regulation that wood preservatives have subjected to in the past.
7. Inorganic and organic biocides
With current wood preservation technology there is still a dependence on inorganic chemicals such as copper (in conjunction with other biocides) or with chromium, as well as arsenic and boron for many end use applications. This is very much the case where a long term service life is a key factor in the use of treated wood for that end use. These substances are commodity chemicals and are also covered under the Existing Substances Regulations (EC) 1488/94. There is also work going on revising the Technical Notes for Guidance covering them . This includes a significant addition in the environmental risk assessment area. Efforts are being made to integrate and coordinate the requirements for both the BPD and the Existing Substances Regulations and OSPAR ( OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic). OSPAR refers to the Oslo Paris Convention. Whilst the BPD seems primarily aimed at the regulation of biocides based on organic chemicals wood preservative products may contain both inorganic and organic components. Indeed there are probably few wood preservative formulations on the market that contain only one active substance. This must have a significant impact on the way the dossiers are prepared for the active substance and the biocidal products and how they are assessed both at the EC and the Member State level.
8. Consequences of the BPD for the wood preservation industry
Whilst this paper addresses the consequences for the wood preservation industry per se, it must not be overlooked that there may be implications for the fabricaÈors of articles made from treated timber. Some current wood preservative formulations may over a period of time be withdrawn from the market because the risks and costs of generating the data and the preparation of the dossier make the product economically unviable. The presence of large working volumes of wood preservative solutions at treatment plants requires realistic withdrawal periods to avoid the unnecessary disposal and associated environmental risk of products that have been used satisfactorily for many years.
9. Availability of active substances
The structure of the industry has changed dramatically in the past few months and there is no doubt that other changes both within and outside the wood preservation industry itself are yet to happen. The original differentiation between formulator of wood preservatives and active substance suppliers to the wood preservation industry has become blurred. Some of the active substances used in wood preservation are used in other either other biocidal product types or in products regulated under another directive, e.g. Plant Protection Products Directive 91/414/EC.
10. Data protection
This continues to be a key issue for industry and some companies may find it strategically or financially necessary not to support an active substance in a particular product type thus leaving that sector without being able to use the active substance. The coming months will start to reveal which active substances are likely to be supported, at least through the notification process. Formulators are therefore in a close dialogue with their suppliers to try to determine their intentions on whether or not they intend to support their active substance. Today's wood preservative formulations are largely multi active substance based. Product costs, efficacy spectra, niche marketing and other considerations have made this process inevitable. New wood preservative formulations take time to research and develop and the continuity of availability of a choice of active substances is of key importance. A lack of adequate return on investment necessary to sustain the development of new products could have a negative impact on innovation and the rate of introduction of new products. It is extremely unlikely that any new active substance will be solely developed for use in wood preservation. This would be an effect contrary to expectations of the EC. The situation with wood preservatives is complicated by the fact that treated wood is a construction product and comes under the scope of the Construction Products Directive (89/106/EEC) (CPD). Products under the scope of the CPD are required to meet certain so-called essential requirements and one of these is durability. Demonstration of compliance involves the extensive suite of CEN wood preservative efficacy tests. Even relatively small changes in formulations may require extensive re-testing under the EN 599 regime in some Member States.
11. Task Forces
Companies are encouraged by the EC to enter into Task Forces in order to reduce the burden of testing on animals and also to reduce the number of dossiers to be reviewed for each active substance. Ideally, and understandably, the EC would like one dossier per active substance. Parts of the wood preservation industry have been co-operating in Task Forces and much practical experience has been gained. Even closer co-operation will be required and this will enable companies to pool experience and expertise and manage their financial exposure to potentially high regulatory costs by sharing them amongst a larger number of parties.
12. Financial aspects
Industry will have to make some best guesses with respect to its investment programmes for supporting its portfolio of products. Formulators and active substance suppliers are likely to group into Task Forces in order to reduce their costs in terms of data generation and the fees likely to be charged at the EU and the Member State level for the assessment of the dossiers. The compilation of the dossiers requires specialist expertise to assist the industrial applicant(s). This is likely to cost in the order of £100,000 per active substance, not including the costs of generating any data. The Rapporteur State's costs for reviewing the dossier is also expected to be of the same order. Clearly these kinds of costs will impact on innovation. An adequate payback must be available to the company to justify this level of investment.
13. Will mutual recognition work?
Member States are required to recognise the authorisation of the biocidal product placed on the market in the first Member State when subsequent applications are made to place the product on the market. This is a fundamental principle of the BPD, although there is concern that Member States continue to have enough flexibility to prevent this happening if there are particular concerns in that Member State. Industry very much hopes this will not be the case and that mutual recognition, a fundamental principle of the BPD, will work in practice.
14. Environmental aspects
Biocidal products such as wood preservatives are generally applied in controlled situations and not over large areas. Consequently any emissions can be considered to be from discreet sources, such as treated timber or potentially from timber treatment plants. This is in contrast to plant protection products and some other biocidal products that are usually dispersed over a relatively large area. Because of this a lot of work is required to be done to re evaluate how the environmental aspects of biocidal products such as wood preservatives can be assessed in an objective manner. The criteria that define an emission and how the PEC (Predicted Environmental Concentration) for each environmental compartment is determined are critical. The wood preservation industry, through the EWPM (European Wood Preservative Manufacturers Group), has been working with institutes and other interested parties in a co-operation known as the EFG (Environment Focus Group) to progress the development of appropriate methodology. Data will be required for both primary and secondary exposure to treated timber. The protocols for this work are yet to be agreed. This work is being further progressed in the OECD together with input from CEN TC 38 WG27. This co-operation between the OECD and CEN is extremely significant in that it is, I believe, the first time such a co-operation has taken place in the development of an OECD Guideline. If one considers all of the end uses where treated timber may be found carrying out a risk assessment with few guidelines on how it should be done is a very uncertain process for both industry and the regulator. Reliance on so-called expert opinion may be inadequate.
15. Comparative assessment (the substitution principle)
This is a process whereby the health safety and environmental properties of acti_u101 ? substances used in the same product type could be compared and those with the most undesirable properties would not be placed on Annex I. Consequently biocidal products containing them would have to be removed from the market. This process is embodied in the BPD but it was initially considered that it would only be applied in the event of problems arising with active substances or products containing them rather than being used as a screening tool early on in the review process for active substances. This area is still an uncertain one with Member States having different interpretations of this principle. It is unfortunate that the wood preservation industry could be used to test out this concept at a European level. The consequences of this principle could be further losses of active substances available to the wood preservative formulators.
16. Substances of concern
The BPD is not only concerned with the active substances that are formulated into the biocidal product but also with so-called "substances of concern". These are defined as any substance, other than the active substance, which has the inherent capacity to cause an adverse effect on humans, animals or the environment and is present or is produced in a biocidal product in sufficient concentration to create such an effect. There are significant implications for the formulator of the biocidal product . The formulator may have to submit an extensive dossier containing toxicological and metabolic as well as ecological data on each of the substances of concern when seeking approval for the biocidal product. There may be classes of compounds that become unavailable to the formulator either because of the risks posed by the co-formulant or because the cost of generating data will be uneconomic.
17. The wood preservation Industry's view on the BPD
Industry has supported the development of the BPD since its conception in 1989. It is still supportive it but believes that the degree of complexity is disproportionate to the level of risk when it comes to wood preservatives. After all wood preservatives have been regulated for a long time and in reality there have been few significant health safety and environmental problems associated with them. Industry believes there is no need to determine an absolute understanding about a biocide and its application but rather there is a need to determine the level of understanding that will enable characterisation so that a risk assessment can be made. The wood preservation industry has sought either directly or through representative bodies a pro-active and collaborative approach with the regulators although at times this appears to have encouraged inappropriate demands. The regulators have invariably responded positively to this however they may not always understand the burden in both time and resource in having made wood preservatives the test case. Industry hopes that its efforts to be pro-active will be recognised and will be dealt with equitably when considered before the other product types defined in the Biocidal Products Directive.
D Aston
Evaluation of Barrier Wrap Systems after 71 Months of Exposure
2013 - IRG/WP 13-40631
A 71 month study of the performance of booted samples in ground contact was conducted in AWPA hazard zone 4. Data indicated that excellent performance of wrapped systems, even over untreated wood, could be obtained. Instances of decay colonization or termite attack could all be attributed to some breaking of the integrity of the barrier system. Good performance for treatment below ground contact...
H M Barnes, M G Sanders, G B Lindsey, C McIntyre
Exposure monitoring of creosote vapors
1989 - IRG/WP 3511
Creosote oils contain hundreds of compounds. During impregnation and handling of treated wood the main component in the vapors released in air is naphthalene. Other main components are alkyl naphthalenes, indene, phenol and its methyl derivatives, benzothiophene, diphenyl, acenaphthalene and fluorene. In the measurement of creosote vapors, naphthalene can be used as an indicator agent. One of the ...
P Heikkilä, M Loutamo, V Riihimäki, M Romo
The collaborative developement of soil acceptance criteria for timber treatment chemicals in New Zealand
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-34
In New Zealand, the issue of potential contamination on timber treatment sites arose in the late 80's due to the long history of use of PCP by the industry. One of the recommendations from the task group set up to investigate the issue was the development of a set of acceptance criteria to define trigger levels for remediation. A technical group from the government, industry and regional ...
H C Boyd
Sequential exposure of borate treated Douglas-fir to multiple Formosan subterranean termite colonies in a 40-week field test
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10006
Douglas-fir boards (ca. 74.5 g) pressure-treated with disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) retentions of 0 (controls), 0.88, 1.23, 1.60, or 2.10% (weight/weight) DOT were sequentially exposed to four active field colonies of Formosan subterranean termites, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae), in an above-ground field test. Samples were placed in contact with each colony fo...
J K Grace, R T Yamamoto
Analysis of creosote posts after 40 years of exposure
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50035
In the early 1950s The Western European Institute for Wood Preservation (WEI) started a program for testing creosote and salt treated posts in three exposure sites in Europe. Of these only the site in Simlångsdalen in south western Sweden remains today. The purpose with this investigation was to demonstrate which creosote components are still retained in the posts after 40 years of exposure and w...
G Bergqvist, S Holmroos