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3) Human health – for wood protection this covers both primary and secondary exposure. For example, with Tanasote the human health risk assessment encompassed both operators treating wood and professionals, or non-professionals working with Tanasote treated wood;
4) Environment – to ensure the wood preservative demonstrates an acceptable risk to the environment, the environmental assessment includes data from leaching studies allowing the comparison of multiple scenarios including soil and ground water emissions from the treated timber.
Any active substances contained in the wood preservative must be approved for such a use, and the supplier listed on the article 95 list which can be found on the ECHA or HSE websites.
The BPR application process is far reaching and a significant investment. It takes a number of years to get a new wood preservative to market, and for this reason when a wood preservative is identified as meeting the criteria for non-approval set out in article 5.1 of the BPR, such as creosote, there is typically a transition period to allow for alternative products to be approved and made commercially available.
TTJ: DO THE REGULATIONS SPECIFY THE MINIMUM REQUIRED RETENTION OF PRESERVATIVE IN THE TIMBER? OA: Yes. Both the EU BPR and GB BPR specify the dilution and retention of the wood preservative for each use class in which the treated timber is intended for use. It’s really important to remember that the critical values determined during testing are deemed to provide only a baseline efficacy. Estimation of service life requires consideration of the different parameters that have an impact on the service life of wood. To bring this to life, I will use Tanasote as an example. For Tanasote Arxada engaged in testing beyond the required standards. In addition, we had the efficacy data peer reviewed by BM TRADA, a reputable independent third-party assessor.
TTJ: ARE THERE REGULATORY CONTROLS COVERING HOW TREATED TIMBER CAN BE MARKETED? OA: Both the EU BPR and the GB BPR also include rules for articles which have been treated with or incorporate a biocidal product. To be fully compliant the treated timber needs some accompanying collateral. The key requirement of BPR is that it is the responsibility of the company actually placing treated timber on the market to inform its customers and users of the treated timber of the biocidal ingredients used in the wood
preservative and the key health and safety guidelines that should be considered. Treated articles should be appropriately labelled with the following information according to article 58 of the BPR:
• a statement that the treated wood incorporates biocidal products;
• the biocidal property attributed to the treated wood (if applicable);
• the names of the active substances; • any relevant instructions for use.
The labelling shall be clearly visible, legible and durable. Where necessary because of the size or function of the treated article, the labelling can be provided on packaging or on the instructions for use. Where treated articles
• confirmation if any nano materials are present;
are designed and manufactured to meet a specific order, the manufacturer and customer may agree other methods of providing the relevant information.
TTJ: DO YOU THINK THE REGULATORY CONTROLS WILL BECOME MORE STRINGENT IN THE FUTURE? OA: The regulatory landscape is constantly evolving and it takes a dedicated team at Arxada to keep abreast of it all. Wood preservation is one of the most challenging applications in the BPR programme so we consistently find ourselves facing unprecedented issues to resolve. These challenges are opportunities to innovate, allowing us to work towards future proofing the wood preservation sector. ■
Above: This field test in Florida shows the Fahlstrom stake test method being used for evaluation of Tanasote
Above: It is the responsibility of the company placing treated timber on the market to inform its customers and users of the treated timber of the biocidal ingredients used in the wood preservative
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2023 | TTJ
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