Creosote oil is one of the oldest industrially used wood preservatives. The European Commission has however restricted the use of creosote specific applications due to its toxic profile. Creosote was added to Annex 1 (list of approved substances) of the European Biocidal Products Directive (BPD). The BPD Annex 1 listing is effective from 1 May 2013 for an initial period of five years. This means that the use of creosote is still allowed for specific applications up to now but it is highly controversial within the European Commission. Its approval for use after 2018 is questionable and may depend on research results until then, i.e., the viability of alternatives developed to replace creosote as a preservative. The three-years project CreoSub, funded under the fourth joint call within the WoodWisdom-Net Research Programme, started in June 2014 and aims to develop a new protection technology to substitute creosote in wood products in heavy-duty applications outdoors.
Keywords: Creosote, railway sleepers, timber bridges, utility poles, woodwisdom
Authors
Hundhausen U.
Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology (TRETEKNISK), Oslo
Mahnert K.-C.
Norwegian Institute of Wood Technology (TRETEKNISK), Oslo
Bollmus S.
Department Wood Biology and Wood Products, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen
Militz H.
Head of the Department Wood Biology and Wood Products, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen
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