Your search resulted in 67 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
Introduction to keynote: Perspective in urban termite biology and management in Southeast Asia
2012 - IRG/WP 12-10786
This keynote lecture will provide a perspective on the pest status of termites in Southeast Asia, the damages they cause to the urban structures, important biological and behavioural characteristics, detection methods and the various management strategies available....
Chow-Yang Lee
Management strategies for the disposal of CCA-treated wood
2000 - IRG/WP 00-50155
A two-fold management strategy is presented for the disposal of wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). The first part focuses on the use of alternative wood treatment preservatives. The second part of the management strategy addresses short-term disposal issues (less than 25 years) by developing new methods to handle the waste. A set of seven alternative wood preservatives were evaluat...
H M Solo-Gabriele, T G Townsend
For the understanding of biological strategies to sustainable pest management: the case of Nasutitermes corniger
2018 - IRG/WP 18-10907
Termites have long been a serious pest of wooden constructions, timber products and are still causing an important problem in most of tropical regions. The genus Nasutitermes is among the most abundant wood-feeding Termitidae in South of America. The first aim of this review was to gain new insights into the management of N. corniger, considered to be the most economically detrimental pest of this...
I Boulogne, N Amusant, R Constantino, M Falkowski, A M S Rodrigues, E Hoël
Management of the wood and additives wastes in the wood processing industries: Problematics and technical answers review
1996 - IRG/WP 96-50073
Management pathways for pure wood subproducts are well known and used; but as soon as additives like preservatives, glues, varnishes or coatings are present within the wood wastes, their disposal or valorization becomes more tricky. The different kinds of mixed wood wastes of the wood processing industries, from the sawmill to the furniture manufacture, are identified herewith and their diversity ...
S Mouras, G Labat, G Deroubaix
Water-based wood preservatives for curative treatement of insect-infested spruce constructions
1998 - IRG/WP 98-30171
On laying down sanitation measures for wooden constructions infested by wood boring insects, we must take into account static risks for the construction - and, thus, for the security of the user - as well as risks for humans and environment due to the chemical preservative compounds of the treated wood.
Analyses on many roof constructions made with spruce (Picea abies L.) have revealed that Hylot...
E Graf, P Manser, B Lanz
Preservative-treated wood as a component in the recovered wood stream in Europe – A quantitative and qualitative review
2004 - IRG/WP 04-50218
Wood preservatives have been used for the protection of timber products in the European market in appreciable quantities for about 100 years. Between the 1960s up to the present day this usage has been particularly noticeable. The aim of this paper is to present quantitative and qualitative data on the volumes of preservative treated wood placed on the market in the UK and Sweden and to evaluate t...
R J Murphy, P Mc Quillan, J Jermer, R-D Peek
Some biological observations on the management of preservativion experiments with submerged timber in the marine environment
1976 - IRG/WP 421 E
P Deschamps
Trends in environmental management in industry. Implications for wood preservation activities
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-34
J A De Larderel
The use, approval and waste management of industrial wood preservatives. A preliminary report
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50033
The structure on the wood preservation through the world is heterogenous. Environmental legislation, approval policy and application practices differ in each geographical region and in individual countries. This preliminary report gives a rough estimation of the production of treated timber, the use of wood preservatives and a bief summary of environmental status of wood impregnation in selected c...
A J Nurmi
Disposal of treated wood - Canada
1990 - IRG/WP 3563
It is estimated that treated wood removed from service each year in Canada contains about 16,000 tonnes of creosote, 1000 tonnes of pentachlorophenol and 245 tonnes of CCA or ACA. The amount of CCA treated wood for disposal is expected to increase more than ten-fold by the year 2020. At present, most treated wood is disposed of in landfills, burned (creosote only) or recycled as other products. Ot...
P A Cooper
Migration of Metals from Douglas-fir Lumber Treated with ACZA or Pentachlorophenol Using Best Management Practices: Preliminary Tests
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-4
The potential for migration of preservative components from ammoniacal copper zinc arsenate (ACZA) and pentachlorophenol treated Douglas-fir lumber in non-soil contact exposure was assessed in a simulated rainfall device. Metal levels from ACZA treated wood were elevated for the first 30 minutes of rainfall and then declined sharply. Repeated cycles of rainfall led to declines in initial metal l...
J J Morrell, Hua Chen, J Simonsen
Wood preservation in Kenya
2000 - IRG/WP 00-40191
Current research on wood preservation in Kenya is mainly on the development of biological control of wood-destroying termite species, using mycoinsecticides. The major research institutions include the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI), Moi University and the International Centre for Insect Physiology (ICIPE). Training institutions include Fore...
G Ochiel
Waste management of wood products in life cycle assessment
2000 - IRG/WP 00-50154
Within the framework of the European project LIFE SYS WOOD (contractnr. FAIR CT95-7026) TNO has performed a study on the waste management of wood demolition waste for inclusion in Life Cycle Assessment. In LIFE SYS WOOD one of the main aims was to develop a consistent LCA methodology for wood products. LCA case studies have been performed by partners on wood as raw material, glulam contructions, O...
P Esser, P Eggels, A Voss
Cleaner prodiction and the wood preserving industry
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-29
H Carr-Harris, C R Coggins
The first two years of an area wide management program for the Formosan subterranean termite in the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana
2000 - IRG/WP 00-10357
The Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus, is a serious pest in several parts of the world and is the most destructive insect in Louisiana. The density of the Formosan subterranean termite in the French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA is very high. A large area pilot test for area wide management of this insect was begun in 1998 in the French Quarter to reduce densities of ter...
D R Ring, A L Morgan, W D Woodson, A R Lax, X P Hu, E D Freytag, L Mao
Restriction for use and waste management for pressure treated wood - The current situation in Norway
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50175
The Norwegian Environmental Authorities have this winter sent out a draft on restrictions in production and use of heavy metals in preservative treated timber. If it is passed, it will lead to drastic changes in the use of preservatives in Norway from this autumn. The environmental authorities and the preservative industry are both at present discussing waste management for CCA and creosote treate...
F G Evans
Survey of maintenance management of a residence
2001 - IRG/WP 01-10405
The following points were clarified from the responses to the questionnaire. Termite damage was most common in the bathroom, washroom, and entrance, in that order. Termite damage was most commonly found beneath floors, followed by floor surfaces, and inside walls, in that order. Damage in framing was minimal. Damage in all structural components was most common in the Kyushu region, with the most s...
Y Yamaguchi, M Azuma, Y Hikita, K Nishimoto
Data requirements for wood preservatives in the EU Biocides Directive
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-08
Directive 98/8/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of biocidal products (the Biocidal Products Directive, BPD) lays down the requirements on data needed for authorisation of a biocidal product and approval of its active substance(s). The dossier must contain data needed for the proper risk assessment of the biocidal product. A detailed technical guidance documen...
H Braunschweiler
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
Risk reduction from curative treatments, restoration and maintenance of building and individual housing - simple precautions that make the difference
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-15
This document explores the potentialities of risk reduction, from activities of remediation in construction, developped at small scale by professionals or individuals on targets like moulds, rots, termites and other wood destroying insects, with products distributed for professional or do-it-yourself purposes. At the first stage, an inventory of the type / interest of products / processes is carri...
G Ozanne
Traitement des matériaux lignocellulosiques en présence des composés halogénés (Risques toxiques des produits de combustion)
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-17
From the point of view of the combustion products toxicity, the highest environmental hazard comes from the combustion of materials creating toxic products such as dioxins and dilbenzofurans. 95% of these are formed during incineration of different materials. The aromatics result essentially from the products of paper industry and from wood treatment. Formation of halogenated products during the c...
I Surina, M Slimak, S Vodny, A Périchaud, K Balog
The foreign exchange situation and fate of wood preservation in Nigeria
1989 - IRG/WP 3558
Up to about 15 years ago, wood utilization industry in Nigeria gave no serious thoughts to wood preservation. After this period however, as a result of escalated local demand for sawn timber, logs with wider sapwood and mainly of secondary tree species requiring protection of the sawn timber became dominant in the local timber scene. Preservatives both for protection in and out of ground contacts ...
M A Odeyinde, S C Ifebueme
Feasibility study for a dedicated pressure treated wood waste management system
2005 - IRG/WP 05-50224-22
For the creosote treated wood coming out of service, it has been estimated an amount of 200 000 t per year for the next twenty years, and 100 000 t per year afterwards. With a limited number of actors, mainly SNCF (as producer and as user), no importations, and available energy recovery options, it appears possible for setting a dedicated wood waste management system, if the SNCF agrees to.
For t...
C Cornillier, I Buda, E Heisel, G Labat
Management of treated wood waste in Canada - Technical and regulatory solutions
2001 - IRG/WP 01-50166-15
A major problem facing the wood preservation industry in Canada is the management of wastes. This refers to wastes generated during the treatment process as well as waste treated wood that is removed from service. The volume of oil borne preservative treated industrial products to be removed from service in Canada over the next 20 years is expected to be fairly constant at approximately 350,000 to...
B Munson
Utility pole recycling and disposal in Eastern Canada
1990 - IRG/WP 3587
Increasing public awareness, prompted by environmental groups such as Greenpeace, concerning the use and disposal of treated wood is becoming a serious issue in Canada. Producers and user groups of treated Pentachlorophenol (PCP) utility poles are at the forefront of public, government and media attention. If, as expected, further limitations on the use and disposal of PCP by the public are impose...
S D Henry