IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Borates as wood preserving compounds: The status of research in the United States
1989 - IRG/WP 3542
This paper describes the extensive, on-going cooperative research effort among government and university research laboratories and industry to fully evaluate the potential for borates as wood preservatives in the United States. Research is discussed in terms of laboratory evaluations, field testing and mill trials, pilot plant pressure treatment studies, and remedial treatments. Future research pl...
H M Barnes, T L Amburgey, L H Williams, J J Morrell


Statement on laws relating to wood preservation in Brazil
1977 - IRG/WP 399
A set of copies of the laws relating to wood preservation in Brazil (in Portuguese) have been deposited with the IRG Secretariat. Generally speaking, it can be said that all public constructions have to comply with the laws that have been laid down. All organisations (governmental and private) which produce or apply wood preservatives are registered. The private sector is not obliged to abide by t...
P Karstedt


Northern oak wood and its damages in Iran
1988 - IRG/WP 1377
The Northern oak species of Iran designated Quercus castaneaefolia C.A.M. is distributed widely in caspian littoral. In natural conditions (healthy) has favourable quality and it is used mostly in rural construtions, sleepers, parquets, cross arms for electric and communication poles, it is used also indoor and window construction, benches and finally veneer. This wood in the case of sleepers and ...
D Parsapajouh, P Niloufari


Treatment of wood by diffusion of salts
1976 - IRG/WP 368
A brief survey is given on the treatment of wood by diffusion of salts. The compounds used for this process, mainly boron and fluorine compounds, are mentioned and the factors influencing diffusion described. The main pre-condition is a high moisture content of the wood of above 40%. Fields of application are fresh roundwood, remedial treatment of poles and sleepers, preservation of posts and espe...
G Becker


Wood preservation research in Tanzania: Priorities and challenges
1988 - IRG/WP 3462
Tanzania provides some of the highest rates of wood deterioration in service leading to alarming economic losses and yet no serious concern is shown in search for solutions to the problem. The paper attempts to point out some of the priority areas in the field of wood preservation research that demand urgent attention if timber is to be used judiciously in this country. An account is given of the ...
K K Murira, R Cockcroft


Survey of North American practice in conditioning forest products before preservative treatment
1972 - IRG/WP 308
Seasoning requirements for the wide range of forest products which are treated with preservatives and fire retardants must be capable of dealing with a very complex set of conditions which are summarized under a number of variables including type and hazard of end use, the most effective distribution of preservative, a wide range of cross sectional dimensions, the possibility of seasoning by a ran...
J Rak, T S McKnight


Survey of practical methods for conditioning of forest products before preservative treatment
1971 - IRG/WP 39
The seasoning of forest products is undertaken for a wide range of end uses and is becoming increasingly required for applications and building construction and secondary manufacturing industries. A wide range of applications of new technology and specifically required seasoning schedules is being actively developed for such requirements, but less attention has been given to the means by which woo...
J Rak, T S McKnight


Pre-treatment decay and strength loss of railroad ties, and their prevention
2013 - IRG/WP 13-30610
Evidence of fungal decay in air-drying, untreated railway crossties is referred to as ‘stack burn’ in the industry. The deleterious consequences of stack burn on tie mechanical properties was confirmed by evaluating the impact bending toughness of wood samples taken from untreated tie stock air dried in the southern United States. These results suggest that careful consideration should be give...
A M Taylor, B Jordan, J D Lloyd


Cost effective extension of service life of bridge tie (sleepers) - Effectively applying borate during Boulton conditioning and treatment with copper naphthenate
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30637
Current longevity of creosote treated wooden bridge ties in the South Eastern US is about 15 to 25 years, which is well below of the average service life of 33-50 years of railroad ties. Such short service life increases costs associated with maintenance of railroads including bridge down time for tie replacement as well as the cost for the new ties themselves. Because of this, many railroads are...
J D Lloyd, T Chambers, J-W Kim


CreoSub – New protection technology to substitute creosote in railway sleepers, timber bridges, and utility poles
2014 - IRG/WP 14-30644
Creosote oil is one of the oldest industrially used wood preservatives. Due to its toxic profile, the European Commission has restricted the use of creosote specific applications, but it is highly controversial within the European Commission. Its approval for use after 2018 is very questionable and may depend on derived research results until then, i.e., the viability of alternatives developed to ...
U Hundhausen, K-C Mahnert, A Gellerich, H Militz


Comparison of gauge and assay retention in crossties treated with copper naphthenate
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40667
Creosote has been the most widely used preservative for wooden railroad crossties or sleepers for over 100 years. Alternative preservatives such as copper naphthenate (CuN) have been shown to provide equivalent performance against decay fungi and wood destroying insects; however, the use and specification of CuN involves an education process for treaters and railroad customers alike. One differe...
J Brient, H Tomlinson, J Hughes


Borate treatment of green ties: An initial report on the effects on mechanical properties
2014 - IRG/WP 14-40686
Borates are increasingly used as components of wood preservative systems for railway cross ties (“sleepers”) in the USA. A variety of methods exist for incorporating the borate component; however, the so-called ‘two-step’ treatment, which involves treating the green tie in borate, followed by a pressure treatment with creosote or copper naphthenate after drying (‘seasoning’), offers th...
A M Taylor, J D Lloyd


Best handling practices for wood crossties (sleepers)
2015 - IRG/WP 15-40714
Wooden crossties (sleepers) dominate the rail industry in the USA. Most ties are hardwood treated with oil-borne preservatives using pressure treatment. Incipient decay (called ‘stack burn’) commonly develops during the pre-treatment drying process and reduces tie performance and longevity. Practices to minimize stack burn and enhance wooden tie performance are discussed as an aid to non-wood ...
N Irby, J Lloyd, A Taylor, J Watt


Impregnation of railway sleepers - Pressure gradient and transversal penetration
2016 - IRG/WP 16-40731
Based on the possible ban of creosote in the future, the need for oil based alternative products has gained in importance. Due to possible differences in impregnation properties compared to creosote the need for re-implementing former technology is given, to determine if momentarily used impregnation processes have to be modified. The here reported tests measure the pressure gradient during the im...
M Starck, A Gellerich, H Militz


Treatability of beechwood railway sleepers with potential creosote substitutes
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40790
Maintenance of an efficient railway infrastructure still requires the use of wooden railway sleepers, particularly because wooden sleepers have more favourable properties for intensified vibrations than concrete or steel sleepers. Creosote, used for decades for the impregnation of railway sleepers, will possibly no longer be available for this application due to European legislation. This reveals ...
N Pfabigan, E Habla, R Gründlinger


Borate and Copper Naphthenate Dual Treatment of Bridge Timbers-Borate movement over time
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40795
Preservative treated wooden bridge ties in the South Eastern USA have a service life of about 15 to 20 years, which falls well below the average service life of 40 years of railroad cross ties (sleepers). It has been shown that cross tie life is significantly extended using borate dual treatment and this is now commercialized in bridge timbers using borate inserts. In previous research, it was dem...
J-W Kim, J D Lloyd


Dual Borate and Copper Naphthenate Treatment of Bridge Timbers:- Potential Performance Enhancements and Cost Savings
2017 - IRG/WP 17-40797
Dual treatment technology combining diffusible preservatives with oil borne preservatives, widely used for crossties in the USA, has now also been commercialized with bridge ties/timbers. In order to understand the implications of these changes, the historic service life of creosote treated bridge timbers in northern and southeastern USA were considered as well as field test data for both creosote...
J Lloyd, C Brischke, R Bennett, A Taylor


Impregnation of railway sleepers - Investigation of a system-sleeper as an alternative for creosote treated sleepers
2020 - IRG/WP 20-40896
For nearly 200 years wooden railway sleepers are impregnated with creosote. After initially using vacuum pressure processes for impregnation, empty-cell processes have been developed quickly and are used until today. Because of political developments, creosote will probably be banned on the European market in the near future. The Fürstenberg-System-Sleeper, which combines for Europe innovative as...
M Starck, A Heidel, C Brischke, H Militz


Bioremediation technology for cleaning-up of the soil contaminated with creosote oil – the overall concept of BIOREM project
2020 - IRG/WP 20-50363
The aim of the communication paper is to present the conceptual framework of the BIOREM project, which started in May 2019. The final result of the entire project will be an innovative bioremediation technology that can be used in areas contaminated with creosote oil – a commonly used wood preservative being a complex mixture of various compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). ...
M Sydow, J Zabielska-Matejuk, A Stangierska


An Update on the Status of Industrial Heavy-Duty Preservatives in Europe
2022 - IRG/WP 22-30762
Creosote has been used for over 150 years for preservation of heavy duty industrial timbers such as railway sleepers, utility poles, and agricultural posts. The regulatory regimes in place today across Europe (eg EU & GB Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR)) require a detailed assessment of the environmental and human health properties of wood preservatives at both the active substance and product l...
S Uphill, H Griffiths, M Giannuzzi, A Hughes


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