The Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) applies to a very wide range of chemical products used by industry, professionals and the public throughout Europe. The common factor is that all incorporate biocides1 in their finished form. Wood preservatives are just one group of products within scope.

Under BPR, active substances in wood preservatives (including fungicides and insecticides) are approved at EU level while preservative formulations incorporating those active substances are authorised for use in member states on an individual basis.

Product authorisation is carried out at a national level by a competent authority (in the UK’s case, the Health & Safety Executive) prior to the marketing and sale of the formulated preservative product in that country. A formulated product can only be authorised once all the active substances in that formulation have been approved.

The efficacy, health and environmental impact data, compiled into ‘portfolios’ are required under BPR for assessment and approval of both active ingredients and preservative formulations. They are very extensive and extremely costly to compile.

This has an impact on the activities of all preservative manufacturers both in the UK and Europe and will inevitably lead to changes in the product options available to the market, either through the introduction of new active ingredients or some rationalisation of product ranges.

Transition to the BPR Regime

Formulations approved under earlier UK legislation, the Control of Pesticides Regulations (CoPR), and that were already on the UK market when the BPR became law, continue to be legally acceptable until all active substances are approved under the BPR. This is according to a programme of active substance reviews set by the EC.

Once all actives are authorised under BPR, then the manufacturers are obliged to seek authorisation of the formulated product. This transition period is approaching completion over the next year or so.

Labelling Treated Articles

For wood treated in the UK with a BPR authorised preservative, the BPR labelling rules for so-called ‘treated articles’ have been in place for several years and pack labelling is now common. Treated wood should be labelled as follows:

  • A statement that the treated article incorporates biocidal products1
  • The name of all active substances contained in the wood
  • Instructions for use, including any precautions to be taken because of the preservative used
  • Labelling shall be clearly visible, easily legible and appropriately durable

Note 1. EU Commission draft FAQ suggests: ‘Contains a preservative to control wood destroying or wood-disfiguring organisms, including insects and/or fungi’.

Responsibility for labelling lies with the original producer of the treated material. Once packs are broken the labelling may be lost but instructions for safe and effective use of the treated material should still be passed on down the supply chain via User Guidance notes, available from preservative suppliers and/or treatment companies.

Impact of Brexit

Treaters and users of treated wood (whether treated in the UK or imported treated) should see no impact on their practices and availability of treated wood from a regulatory viewpoint, if and when the UK leaves the EU.

In the event of leaving with a deal, existing arrangements will continue pending final UK-EU agreements on trading relationships. If there’s no-deal then a fully independent regulatory system managed by the HSE and based, at least initially, on existing EU rules will be implemented.

Wood treated in another EU member state and imported into the UK should have, or be accompanied by, paperwork detailing the treated articles information. This should satisfy deal or no-deal scenarios.

Wood preservative manufacturers will have work to do in transitioning to any new UK arrangements but that is not expected to affect treatment and supply or use of treated wood in the short term. Some active substances have been re-classified and that may affect their use in preservative formulations in the future, but manufacturers are expected to make alternatives available if and when that happens.

In the event of withdrawal of authorisation of a particular preservative, the regulation makes provision for an extended period for use and disposal of preservative solution and supply of treated wood so that an orderly transition is assured. It is extremely unlikely that any existing stocks of treated wood will be banned from sale during such a transition.