Your search resulted in 496 documents. Displaying 25 entries per page.
The effect of storage or simulated internal use on the durability of wood based panels to decay fungi
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20106
Wood based panels such as particleboard and medium density fibreboard are experiencing a steady increase in use, in areas from structural to decorative applications. Understanding the "natural" durability of these panel products against basidiomycete fungal decay is therefore of great importance. Various methods have been proposed or are under development to test the durability/susceptibility of v...
S F Curling, R J Murphy, J K Carey
Inventaire des "déchets" ou produits connexes de la filière bois
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-33
G Marcotte
Natural durability studies in an accelerated field simulator - A novel approach
1983 - IRG/WP 2197
A study of the natural durability of untreated timbers to both decay and termite attack is described. The work illustrates the versatility of the Accelerated Field Simulator as a novel approach to biodeterioration research....
G C Johnson, J D Thornton, J W Creffield, C D Howick
About the relations between the natural durability of some tropical species and their extractives content
1983 - IRG/WP 1208
G R Y Déon
Work program of CEN/TC 38 (April 1993). Durability of wood and wood-based products
1993 - IRG/WP 93-20012
R Hüe
Report on marine borer attack on some timbers treated with CCA wood preservative and exposed for three months in sea-water
1985 - IRG/WP 4112
Destruction of timbers by marine borers has long been a problem for the coastal population of Thailand. The use of heavy durable timbers with frequent maintenance, or total replacement, is the only solution for fishermen with their fishing craft or marine installations, meanwhile wharves or other large scale constructions are usually made by using concrete pilings or concrete casings. In recogniti...
A Rananand, W Yoosukh, U Sittiphuprasert
The biological natural durability of timber in ground contact
1994 - IRG/WP 94-20051
The BRE ground contact field trials for the determination of the biological natural durability of different timber species have recently been reviewed. The data obtained from these trials have been used to appraise the different ways in which natural durability may be expressed. It is concluded that the use of the mean as a method of assigning the timber to one of five durability classes may be ac...
G A Smith, R J Orsler
Assessment of the natural durability of four Ghanaian hardwoods against the white-rot fungus Coriolus versicolor and soft-rot using laboratory tests
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10498
The natural durability of two lesser-utilized species (LUS) (Corynanthe pachyceras Welw. (pamprana) and Glyphaea brevis (Sprengel) Monachino) (foto) from three forest districts, and two related primary species (Nauclea diderrichii (de Wild.) Merr. (opepe) and Nesogodornia papaverifera (A. Chev.) R. Capuron.) (danta) from one district in Ghana is assessed against Coriolus versicolor Linnaeus Quelet...
C Antwi-Boasiako, A J Pitman, J R Barnett
Adequate preservative treatment of tropical and subtropical hardwoods for electric anchor logs
1997 - IRG/WP 97-40101
Most available 27 different hardwood species grown in Bangladesh was investigated regarding suitability as CCA-C (chromated copper arsenate type-C) impregnated anchor logs for rural electrification programme. The kiln-drying properties, sapwood thicknesses, CCA treatability grades of sapwood and heartwood, natural durability of heartwood and CCA retainability at specific assay zone separated 27 ha...
A K Lahiry
LCA applied for wooden products
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50059
This paper presents some of the international developments within ISO and SETAC to standardize and harmonize LCA methodologies. In this framework it is also important to be aware of the problems that companies have to generate and validate data for the complete product chain from cradle to grave. This concerns problems in nomenclature of substances and processes, system boundaries, allocation prob...
A Kloppenburg, A Van Dam
A method of predicting the average life of field tests on preservative-treated stakes
1977 - IRG/WP 297
The paper presents an analysis of the results of completed field stake tests on untreated and preserved timber, and develops a method of predicting the average life of incomplete stake tests on wood preservatives from the failures that have occurred so far....
D F Purslow
A natural exposure weathering test for the evaluation of preservative performance
1992 - IRG/WP 92-2400
Natural exposure weathering tests were carried out by externally exposing treated wood samples for varying periodes of time up to 36 months. In the laboratory these samples were assayed for residual preservative effeciveness using Coniophora puteana FPRL 11E. The results indicated a loss in efficacy over and above that determined using artificial ageing procedures such as EN73 (evaporative ageing)...
J Brown, G R Williams
Natural durability of some commercial timbers of Sarawak, Malaysia in tropical marine environment
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10561
The abundant supply of timber resources in Sarawak makes timber an ideal choice to be used for marine construction. The natural durability of the main commercial timber species of Sarawak in ground contact is well established but the same is not available for marine environment.
This study was conducted to assess the natural durability of 28 commercial timber species in tropical marine environmen...
K Jenang, Wang Choon Ling
Natural durability of some common Indian timbers and marine plywood against biodeterioration in Kochi waters (India)
1992 - IRG/WP 92-4177
Panels of thirty-eight timber species and marine plywood were tested in Kochi harbour (South-west India) for periods ranging from 3 to 21 months, so as to evaluate their natural resistance against marine borers. Results indicate that all the timber species studied are non-durable, 6 of them having undergone more than 50% internal destruction within 3 months; 14 species in 6 months, 13 species and ...
L N Santhakumaran, M V Rao
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
Results of field tests on the natural durability of timber (1932-1975)
1976 - IRG/WP 3105
This paper describes a continuing field stake trial to determine the natural resistance of different species of timber to decay. Data are presented for about 180 timbers, covering over 6000 stakes, and the results are discussed in terms of a natural durability classification....
D W Purslow
Information from the Wood Group of COIPM
1982 - IRG/WP 494
A Gambetta
Criteria for basidiomycetes testing and ways of defining natural durability classes
1998 - IRG/WP 98-20144
Within the framework of a European research project several laboratories have tested a series of 17 wood species covering the total range of natural durability.
Basidiomycete tests are part of the total set up. Although generally based upon standard methods some minor differences in execution of the tests were evaluated for their impact on the results. This variation was superimposed with the fac...
J Van Acker, M Stevens, J K Carey, R Sierra-Alvarez, H Militz, I Le Bayon, G Kleist, R-D Peek
Natural durability of eight tropical hardwoods species from Africa
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10563
Current forest inventory results reveal that there are more than 700 hundred-hardwood species in tropical forests, of which less than 10 percent are harvested and used for commercial purposes. The increased use of lesser-known species can decrease the pressure on current commercial species, increase the value of the forest and lead to better management practices. However basic information on physi...
P Nzokou, K Wehner, D P Kamdem
Evaluating the natural durability of a number of lesser known species of Ghanaian hardwoods using a short term laboratory assay
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10540
Resistance of a number of Ghanaian hardwoods to attack by the crustacean Limnoria quadripunctata was assessed by measuring the production of faecal pellets under forced feeding conditions over a two week period. Small sticks of commercially available, lesser known timber species, were leached in seawater for one week then placed in a cell culture chamber with one animal and 4 ml of seawater. At in...
J R Williams, S M Cragg, L M S Borges, B Shayler
4th Report on condition of panels at Sekondi, Ghana
1978 - IRG/WP 445
F F K Ampong
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
Germination of basidiospores on preservative treated wood after leaching or natural weathering
1981 - IRG/WP 2150
In tests of residual toxic efficacy after leaching or natural weathering, spore germination with Gloeophyllum trabeum has proved to be a less reliable criterion of attack than when used with unaged preservative treatments. Since spores sometimes prove more tolerant than their parent mycelium, their use should be continued....
J K Carey
Novel wood modification processes for window and cladding products
2004 - IRG/WP 04-40285
Because of the low natural durability and low dimensional stability of European wood species, the usage of wood for window frames has decreased dramatically during the last decade. In a joint project of several German research institutes and the window industry, following wood modification systems were compared.
heat treatment (3 different materials from 2 companies)
acetylation (pine sapwood an...
A Krause, C Hof, H Militz
Natural durability of wood in ground contact - A correlation between field and laboratory tests
1985 - IRG/WP 2182
A field test is being carried out to evaluate the natural durability of 20 hardwoods. The resistance to decay and termite attack was evaluated in accelerated laboratory tests. The results of the field test after 6 years and 8 months indicate that there is not necessarily agreement between results from laboratory and field tests. It is pointed out that apart from the artificiality of the laboratory...
M S Cavalcante, G A C Lopez, R G Montagna, M E S Fosco Mucci