STATE OF THE ART REVIEWS

1. INTRODUCTION
COST ACTION E22: Environmental optimisation of wood protection
Detailing the state of the art in Belgium cannot be simply a compilation of research
project titles and can hardly be subdivided in activities related to the 3 working groups
within the Cost Action E22. In order to enable colleagues to get insight in the Belgian
wood preservation sector some details are given in this introduction.
The Belgian wood preservation industry involves 200 to 300 different companies of
which some 34 have a technical approval for treating timber by means of steeping, dipping,
spraying,... and some 10 are approved vacuum pressure treating plants. The total
volume of treated wood is estimated at approximately 400000 m³ per annum. The total
sector employed some 1650 persons in 1995.
Figures for 1993 on the different types of wood preservatives used showed the following
partitioning for the amounts used: inorganic salts 86 %, organic solvent 1.5 %,
organic emulsion 7.5 % and creosote 5 %.
Some restrictions are incorporated in the Belgian policy towards wood preservation.
Some active ingredients cannot get approval any longer and hence are out of the market:
Hg, PCP, lindane, aldrin and dieldrin. Arsenic containing wood preservatives can only
be used for vacuum pressure treatments. The use of creosote is restricted to industrial
use. Only ready-for-use products are allowed in the do-it-yourself (DIY) sector. For
wood in contact with food no residues should be generated.
The Belgian approval system consists of 3 levels.
Level 1 is part of the Ministry of PUBLIC HEALTH and the ENVIRONMENT where
the COUNCIL for PUBLIC HEALTH issues an AUTHORISATION for SALES of a
wood preservative based on the principles of the European Biocidal Products Directive.
Level 2 concerns the BELGIAN ASSOCIATION for WOOD PRESERVATION
(BAWP) which by means of an EXPERT GROUP grants HOMOLOGATION to a preservative.
Judgement is based on the European standard EN 599-1 and complies with
the Construction Products Directive.
Finally level 3 deals with the industrial use of wood preservatives and is based on the
European standard EN 351-1. The Ministry of INFRASTRUCTURE and TRAFFIC has
a special WOOD GROUP (Butgb-EUatc) giving TECHNICAL APPROVAL (ATG) to
wood preservatives and treatment plants including a continuous CONTROL SYSTEM.
The Technical Approval (ATG) is essential for access to public procurement contracts
and most of the private building market.
For preventive wood protection the following product categories are differentiated in
Belgium:
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