CEN/TC 38/WG 22 - Performance - Assessment and specifications (treated wood - Wood preservatives)

This document is intended to facilitate the interpretation and use of the European Standards where the testing and specification of wood preservative products are described. It aims to assist users (manufacturers, specifiers, authorities, etc.) to correlate the choice of selected test methods, wood substrates and biological agents with the efficacy requirements of wood preservatives based on their claimed target organisms and end use. This document is a source of supplementary information to the relevant standards and cannot be used as a standalone document.

This document specifies the minimum performance requirements in biological tests for products for curative uses against specific wood destroying organisms. It specifies the biological tests required together with the efficacy criteria to be achieved in each test.
Chemicals against insects can act according to their specific properties within a short time (fast acting) or only after a long period (slow acting or with a deferred effect). Different tests and efficacy requirements are needed for these various types of curative wood preservatives.
This document is applicable to all wood preservative products supplied for application in liquid form for curative uses against attack by wood boring beetles. This document is also applicable for products applied to prevent the growth of the dry rot fungus through masonry.
This document is also applicable to products for curative uses supplied for application as pastes, solids or in capsule form but only where appropriate biological methods of test exist as published European Standards.
NOTE   This standard is used as a reference document for the evaluation of efficacy of biocidal products PT8 (wood preservatives) in the framework of the European Regulation on Biocidal Products (EU) No 528/2012 (BPR).
This document is not applicable to products used as fumigants.
This document is also not applicable for determining whether specific curative products, used alone or in combination, are effective in conferring long-term protection against attack by wood destroying organisms. Preventive effectiveness can be determined using EN 599-1 but only for products that can be tested using the methods and interpretative procedures defined in EN 599-1.
Annex A (informative) contains a guidance on re-testing after making variations in product formulation.
Annex B (informative) contains some test recommendations for specific curative products against other insect species than Hylotrupes bajulus and Anobium punctatum.

This European Standard specifies the requirements for labelling wood preservative products according to their efficacy and suitability for use, for each of the five use classes defined in EN 335.
This European Standard is applicable to all wood preservative products supplied for application in liquid form for the preventive treatment of timbers (structural and non-structural) against wood-attacking fungi, wood-attacking insects and marine organisms as described in EN 1001-2 and EN 335. It is applicable to products for preventive treatments against fungi causing disfigurement (blue stain) of wood in service, only if this forms part of the overall preventive effectiveness of the product.
This European Standard is not applicable to wood preservative products supplied for application as pastes, solids or in capsule form because they cannot be tested without modification of the biological tests demanded in this standard. It does not apply either to wood preservative products for remedial (curative) treatments or to those applied to prevent fungi causing sap stain on green (unseasoned) timber.

This part of EN 599 specifies for each of the five use classes defined in EN 335-1, the biological tests required for evaluating the efficacy of wood preservatives for the preventive treatment of solid timber, together with the minimum ageing tests required for the respective use class. It provides the method for calculating the critical value of a preservative. The critical value is the value that shall be used to calculate the recommended retention of the preservative appropriate for specific service conditions. The critical value is not necessarily the recommended retention or the minimum retention level for the preservative. The wide range of hazards, exposure conditions and service life requirements across Europe make it necessary to allow for local considerations in the calculation of the required preservative retention; EN 351-1 provides for the critical value to be adjusted to take account of these factors.
This part of EN 599 is applicable to all wood preservative products supplied for application in liquid form for the preventive treatment of timbers (structural and non-structural) against wood-attacking fungi, wood-attacking insects and marine borers as described in EN 335-1. However, it is applicable to products for preventive treatments against fungi causing disfigurement (blue stain) of wood in service if this forms part of the overall preventive efficacy of the product.
This part of EN 599 does not necessarily take into account all the factors which may affect the stability of active ingredients in preservative treated wood. These factors include ultra-violet light and microbiological agencies capable of degrading components of the preservative. Such factors are an integral part of exposure in field trials but are subject to natural variation and their impact is not directly assessed in the field trial methods included in this standard.

This Technical Report specifies the minimum performance requirements for hot air treatment intended for application against specific classes of wood attacking organism. It specifies the minimum performance criteria to be achieved by hot air treatment.
NOTE   Until now sufficient practical experience and results of scientific tests are available only for heat treatments using hot air as a medium to increase the temperature inside building components up to a threshold lethal to wood destroying organisms. Therefore, this document is restricted to hot air treatments although other measures like, for example, radio waves or electric blankets may be useful means for limited and special applications.
This document is applicable only to hot air treatment, in so far as it is intended to cure attack by wood destroying beetles and the dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans).
This Technical Report is not applicable to eradicate an attack by termites or by fungi other than the dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans).
Hot air treatment as described in this document does not provide subsequent preventive protection against attack by wood-destroying organisms.
This document does not define the equipment, techniques or precise operation procedures required to achieve the parameters given in Clauses 4 and 5 for any set of practical circumstances. Specifications for particular practical circumstances have to be developed on a case by case basis by expert advisers/consultants.

This document gives guidelines regarding the validity of test results from former versions of a revised standard.

This part of EN 599 specifies for each of the five use classes defined in EN 335-1, the biological tests required for evaluating the efficacy of wood preservatives for the preventive treatment of solid timber, together with the minimum ageing tests required for the respective use class. It provides the method for calculating the critical value of a preservative. The critical value is the value that shall be used to calculate the recommended retention of the preservative appropriate for specific service conditions. The critical value is not necessarily the recommended retention or the minimum retention level for the preservative. The wide range of hazards, exposure conditions and service life requirements across Europe make it necessary to allow for local considerations in the calculation of the required preservative retention; EN 351-1 provides for the critical value to be adjusted to take account of these factors.
This part of EN 599 is applicable to all wood preservative products supplied for application in liquid form for the preventive treatment of timbers (structural and non-structural) against wood-attacking fungi, woodattacking insects and marine borers as described in EN 335-1. However, it is applicable to products for preventive treatments against fungi causing disfigurement (blue stain) of wood in service if this forms part of the overall preventive efficacy of the product.
This part of EN 599 does not necessarily take into account all the factors which may affect the stability of active ingredients in preservative treated wood. These factors include ultra-violet light and microbiological agencies capable of degrading components of the preservative. Such factors are an integral part of exposure in field trials but are subject to natural variation and their impact is not directly assessed in the field trial methods included in this standard. Methods are in development to assess the impact of these factors but are not finalised and cannot be included in this revision of this part of EN 599. Because such factors could, in service, significantly affect the active ingredient’s suitability for its intended purpose, the manufacturer/ producer is expected to ensure and be able to provide evidence that its stability, at the recommended retention of the preservative product, has been adequately assessed.
This part of EN 599 is not applicable to wood preservative products supplied for application as pastes, solids or in capsule or gaseous form because these cannot be tested without modification of the biological tests cited in this standard. It does not apply either to wood preservative products for remedial (curative) treatments, to those applied to prevent fungi causing sap stain on green (unseasoned) timber or to those applied solely to prevent fungi causing disfigurement (blue stain) of wood in service.
NOTE 1 The nature of the laboratory and field tests required in this part of EN 599 to demonstrate efficacy of a wood preservative are such that the time required generating the data is many months or years, depending upon the properties of the wood preservative and the use class in which the treated wood is to be exposed.
For preservative products which have already been placed on the market without significant formulation variation (see Annex A) before the end of 1990 and which can demonstrate a record of having been used lawfully and successfully in accordance with local technical traditions during this period, national standards bodies or independent authorities nominated by them, may declare critical values for use within their territories.
NOTE 2 For re-testing after making variations in product formulation, guidance is given in Annex A.

This part of EN 351 establishes classification for preservative-treated wood in terms of preservative penetration and gives guidance on a classification of retention. These should be used as a basis for specifying preservative treatments for particular products.
This part of EN 351 provides terminology to be used by the specifier when preparing a preservative treatment specification or product standard. It is not a treatment specification in itself.
This part of EN 351 is applicable to the production of preservative-treated solid wood, including glued laminated timber, suitable for use in those service conditions defined by the use classes in EN 335-1. It does not apply to any subsequent examination of treated wood in service.
This part of EN 351 is applicable to the protection of wood against attack by wood-destroying and wood-disfiguring fungi, insects and marine organisms.
This part of EN 351 does not consider other properties of treated wood, for example odour, corrosiveness and compatibility with other materials, nor does it consider any properties from the health, safety and environmental point of view.
This part of EN 351 does not apply to wood treated with formulations that are applied to timber in service to eliminate or control an existing fungal or insect infestation, or to prevent attack by sapstain fungi, or insects in green timber.

This standard specifies the minimum performance requirements for curative products and processes in biological tests, for each class of wood attacking organism. It specifies the biological tests required together with the performance criteria to be achieved in each test.

This part of EN 599 specifies for each of the five use classes defined in EN 335-1, the biological tests required for evaluating the efficacy of wood preservatives for the preventive treatment of solid timber, together with the minimum ageing tests required for the respective use class. It provides the method for calculating the critical value of a preservative. The critical value is the value that shall be used to calculate the recommended retention of the preservative appropriate for specific service conditions. The critical value is not necessarily the recommended retention or the minimum retention level for the preservative. The wide range of hazards, exposure conditions and service life requirements across Europe make it necessary to allow for local considerations in the calculation of the required preservative retention; EN 351-1 provides for the critical value to be adjusted to take account of these factors.
This part of EN 599 is applicable to all wood preservative products supplied for application in liquid form for the preventive treatment of timbers (structural and non-structural) against wood-attacking fungi, wood-attacking insects and marine borers as described in EN 335-1. However, it is applicable to products for preventive treatments against fungi causing disfigurement (blue stain) of wood in service if this forms part of the overall preventive efficacy of the product.
This part of EN 599 does not necessarily take into account all the factors which may affect the stability of active ingredients in preservative treated wood. These factors include ultra-violet light and microbiological agencies capable of degrading components of the preservative. Such factors are an integral part of exposure in field trials but are subject to natural variation and their impact is not directly assessed in the field trial methods included in this standard.

This document specifies the minimum performance requirements for hot air treatment intended for application against specific classes of wood attacking organism. It specifies the minimum performance criteria to be achieved by hot air treatment.
NOTE   Until now sufficient practical experience and results of scientific tests are available only for heat treatments using hot air as a medium to increase the temperature inside building components up to a threshold lethal to wood destroying organisms. Therefore, this document is restricted to hot air treatments although other measures like, for example, radio waves or electric blankets may be useful means for limited and special applications.
This document is applicable only to hot air treatment, in so far as it is intended to cure attack by wood destroying beetles and the dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans).
This Technical Specification is not applicable to eradicate an attack by termites or by fungi other than the dry rot fungus (Serpula lacrymans).
Hot air treatment as described in this document does not provide subsequent preventive protection against attack by wood-destroying organisms.
This document does not define the equipment, techniques or precise operation procedures required to achieve the parameters given in clause 5 for any set of practical circumstances. Specifications for particular practical circumstances have to be developed on a case by case basis by expert advisers/consultants.