IRG Documents Database and Compendium


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Your search resulted in 248 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.


Less environmental impact of wood preservatives by considering the risk of attack in addition to the hazard class system
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-10
Hazard classes, which are standardized in Europe in EN 335, are most useful to direct chemical wood preservation towards the organisms which may attack wood in the various fields of utilisation. However, hazard only signifies the fact that an attack may occur without considering the actual risk to attack. To minimize the application of chemicals with respect of less environmental impact it is nece...
H Willeitner


Assessment of dehydrogenase activity, fluoride content and total chromium content of soil profiles exposed to preservative treated wood within a model system
1993 - IRG/WP 93-10015
The development and prospective use of a closed model system to facilitate study of a number of indicators of environmental impact of wood preservatives laboratory conditions has been described (IRG/WP/2395-92). Chemical analysis of leachate samples collected from drained soil profiles containing creosoted pole sections remedially treated with a chromated fluoride preservative indicated small incr...
G M Smith, D C R Sinclair, A Bruce, H J Staines


Development of a model system to assess the efficacy and environmental impact of a chromated fluoride remedial treatment for creosoted distribution poles
1992 - IRG/WP 92-2395
A closed model system was designed to facilitate a controlled study of the leachability and environmental fate of a remedial preservative under laboratory conditions. The elements of the model include a precipitation apparatus above a treated pole section which is positioned in a representative soil profile supporting a sward of perennial ryegrass. The model will allow detailed examination of the ...
D C R Sinclair, G M Smith, A Bruce, B King


A methodology for the life-cycle assessment of treated timber products
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-01
Using case studies of CCA-treated motorway fenceposts and creosote-treated electricity transmission poles, the paper suggests an approach to evaluation of the overall environmental impact of treated timber products, utilising the emerging systems analysis method of life-cycle assessment (LCA). The development and application of LCA methodologies to date is reviewed and the key features identified....
S R Smith, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Evaluation of impact of CCA-treated wood on the marine environment
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-15
This paper reviews the literature relating to the potential of CCA-treated wood to affect the marine environment and outlines the compounds required for a model which could be used to predict the environemental impact of maritime construction using such timber. Marine pilings require high loadings of CCA to provide protection from marine borers. Though loadings of 32-48 kg/m³ provide long-term pr...
R M Albuquerque, S M Cragg


Assessment of the environmental impacts in life cycle analysis
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-31
Evaluation of environmental impacts is of crucial importance nowadays but it is a complex problem. Different methodologies have been proposed for the last 20 years such as the "Life Cycle Assessment" (LCA) approach. Life Cycle Assessment is an evalution tool of the impacts on the environment of a system including the whole activities associated with, from the extraction of the raw materials to the...
I Blanc-Sommereux


Biological and chemical investigations for the assessment of the environmental impact of wood preservative components
1999 - IRG/WP 99-50127
This study was carried out in order to investigate the suitability of biological and chemical techniques to evaluate the environmental impact of wood preservatives depleted from impregnated wood. Small specimens (15*25*50 mm3) of Scots pine sapwood (Pinus sylvestris) were treated with a CCB salt. After fixation the treated and untreated samples were washed-out according EN 84, and the different le...
E Melcher, H-W Wegen


Proposal for a method aiming at the quantification of the impact of wood extraction in Life Cycle Assessment
1998 - IRG/WP 98-50113
Life Cycle Assessment has been accepted as an instrument for the assessment of the environmental impact of products. Characterisation factors for impact assessment of emissions from products have been established. To date no characterisation factor exists for the extraction of biotic resources, for example wood. Since the main disadvantage of using wood as a material lies in the extraction of reso...
P Esser, E Van der Voet


Ecotox Testing of Leachates as an Alternative Approach for Environmental Impact Assessment of Wood Preservatives
2002 - IRG/WP 02-50185
Driven by the implementation of the EU Biocidal Product Directive (BPD) in the environmental assessment of treated wood different methodologies and test strategies are at present under discussion within industry, regulatory authorities and standardizing comittees. Test procedures for the analytical determination of emissions to different environmental compartments according to exposure scenario...
H-W Wegen


Alternative methodology for the environmental impact assessment of treated wood: the wood emissions ecotoxicology
2000 - IRG/WP 00-50161
Preservative products and technologies are important for optimising the use of wood and wood products in our society. The regulations of their use under the european Biocidal Products Directive 98/8/EC will require an evaluation of the environmental impact of treated wood. The methodology currently used for this determination is the PEC/PNEC ratio. It consists of calculating PEC values (Predictive...
P Marchal, H W Wegen, J Van Acker, E Melcher, R-D Peek, W J Homan, D Aston, D Rudolph, E F Baines


Minimisation of the Environmental Impacts of Coatings on Exterior Wood by Optimisation of their Life Spans
2003 - IRG/WP 03-50197
The study has shown that the environmental impacts from coatings on exterior wood are dependent criteria on their life spans. A minimisation of the environmental impacts can be performed with the help of the integrated design model, which is tested in this study. The optimal life spans, found as reference service lives from the exposure tests, statistical evaluation and the assessment of experts w...
L Strömberg


Life Cycle Assessment Comparison of Treated Wood to Alternate Materials – Overview, Results and Lessons
2011 - IRG/WP 11-50282
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) has proven useful in documenting the “green” benefits of various treated products compared to the commonly used alternates. To date, six LCA comparisons have been done or are nearing completion using ISO14040 and 14044 principles and data from US EPA databases. In almost all cases, the impact indicators for treated wood products show considerably smaller adverse e...
T Stephen, P E Smith, C R McIntyre


Guideline for Environmental Product Declaration for Thermally Modified Timber
2012 - IRG/WP 12-50287
Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) intend to enable the comparison of the environmental attributes of products that meet equivalent functional requirements. This guideline describes the proceedings of EPD for thermally modified timber (TMT). The main objective is the general survey on requirements on EPD which are based on European and international standards.Up to now only a few EPDs for na...
L Clauder


Environmental Fate of Micronized Copper
2015 - IRG/WP 15-50310
The environmental fate of wood preservatives is an important aspect to estimate the health and environmental impact. Although biocides from treated wood may be released into the soil, water or air, the latter pathway is frequently neglected in favour of leaching studies. Nonetheless, wood dust is well known to cause a variety of adverse health effects, in particular diseases to the respiratory tra...
C Civardi, L Schlagenhauf, J Benz, C Hirsch, J Van den Bulcke, M Schubert, J Van Acker, P Wick,


Long service life or cascading? The environmental impact of maintenance of wood-based materials for building envelope and their recycling options
2018 - IRG/WP 18-50336
A major restraint in choosing bio-based materials (i.e. wood-based) for external use, is the lack of confidence that architects, designers and customers have toward these materials. In particular, the limit state of bio-based materials, which defines the frequency of maintenance operations, might be reached earlier for wood than for other materials (i.e. concrete). On the other hand, resource and ...
M Petrillo, J Sandak, P Grossi, A Kutnar, A


Danish wood preservatives approval system with special focus on assessment of the environmental risks associated with industrial wood preservatives
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-01
The following is a description of the procedure used by the Danish Environmental Protection Agency to assess the environmental risks associated with preservatives used in the pressure impregnation of wood. The risk assessment covers issues considered to be of significance for the environment and which are adequately documented so as to allow an assessment. Such issues are persistence and mobility ...
J Larsen


Programme section 2, Test methodology and assessment
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20126
IRG Secretariat


Proposed methodology for the assessment of safety indexes
1990 - IRG/WP 3562
Safety Indexes (SI)s are developped on the same concept as Efficacy Indexes (EI)s: EIs are retentions of wood preservatives (percentages of the critical values "efficacy") which are presumed efficient for a given biological class of risk. In the same way, SIs are retentions of wood preservatives (percentages of the critical values "safety") which are taken as acceptable for human health and the ge...
G Ozanne


Loss of preservatives from treated wood during service
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3734
During the 23rd IRG conference in Harrogate the matter of preservative losses from treated wood during service was raised. We were asked to collect information in this field and ask now for help from you. Many tests have been carried out at a laboratory scale to study fixation and leaching from wood treated with different preservatives. Very little, however, is reported on losses of preservatives ...
M-L Edlund, D Rudolph


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


Quantitative assessment of the condition of field specimens
1981 - IRG/WP 2154
Suggestions for a discussion on the desirability of an extension to the existing procedure of assessment of the condition of field specimens by adding more objective, reproducible methods in order to obtain earlier and more specific information than at present on the effect of biological attack on strength and other properties of the specimens as well as the time aspect....
H Friis-Hansen


Nouvelles techniques de lutte anti-termites à faible impact environnemental
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-32
P Martinet


La rôle de l'expert dans l'évaluation toxicologique
1990 - IRG/WP 3589
C Boudene


Rates of emission from CCA-treated wood in the marine environment: measurement, modelling and requirements for further research
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-12
Accurate estimates of rates of emission of leachate from preservative treated wood are crucial for realistic predictions of the environmental impact of its use in maritime construction. Estimates are available for some commonly used preservatives, but these vary widely. Though variable, these measurements suggest that emission generally decreases exponentially with time. Part of the variation is d...
S M Cragg, C J Brown, R A Albuquerque, R A Eaton


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


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