IRG Newsletter 0109

01/2009 25 February

Member News

New members
IRG welcomes the following new members.
Read information

IRG Travel Award for Short-term Scientific Missions
Funds are still available for Travel Awards. If you are interested, please take advantage of the on-line application procedure available on the IRG website. The maximum amount that can be granted is Swedish Kroner SEK 12 500, i.e. approximately USD 2 000 or EUR 1300.

Regulatory News

Europe: Creosote - Inclusion in Annex I of Directive 98/8/EC (BPD)
The issue of Creosote was prominently on the agenda of the Technical Meeting (09 - 11 Dec 2008, Paris) in the framework of the Biocidal Products Directive as the toxicological and environmental experts discussed the draft Competent Authorities report prepared by the Swedish Chemicals Inspectorate (KEMI).
KEMI reported that safe use is identified as far as safe uses can be said to exist for a genotoxic carcinogen.
At the meeting of the toxicological experts, it was concluded that exposure levels are well below the levels that can be considered to represent a risk level of low concern. Therefore, safe uses are identified as far as safe uses can be said to exist for a genotoxic carcinogen.
As a conclusion, the technical committee will finalize its proposal in March. The proposed decision will be that inclusion in Annex I of Directive 98/8/EC can be recommended for creosote as an active substance in wood preservatives, product type 8.
It was furthermore decided that the dossier Creosote will be put on the agenda for the next meeting of the Competent Authorities. KEMI will prepare a revised Competent Authorities Report based on the discussion that took place in Paris. The meeting of the Competent Authorities (which is a more political committee that will finally decide whether a substance can be added to the Annex) will take place in Brussels from 17 to 20 February 2009.
Source: WEI Newsletter Issue 5/08 - Brussels, December 2008.

Europe: Classification of boron compounds as toxic to reproduction: category 2
With the 30th Adaptation to technical progress of the directive on the classification and labelling of dangerous substances and preparations (Directive 2008/58/EC), some boron compounds have been recently classified as toxic for reproduction category 2.
Such classification would automatically mean a ban for these substances and preparations containing them which are sold to the general public.
The ban would apply for those substances with a limit of concentration above those included in the Directive 2008/58/EC.
A survey among the suppliers of wood preservatives has revealed that the concentration levels of boron in products on the market are below the level set by the EU.
Source: WEI Newsletter Issue 5/08 - Brussels, December 2008.

Business News

Situation Vacant:

The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
(SLU), Faculty of Forest Sciences, based in Uppsala, Sweden, offers a position as Professor in Wood Technology. Prospective candidates are expected to carry out research and education to a high international level in Wood Technology or closely related field.
Please see attached the position advertisement
Interested applicants please contact
Head of department Prof. Mats Nylinder
phone: +46 18 67 2470
or Dean, Prof. Jan-Erik Hällgren
phone no +46 90 786 8238

USA: AWPA Lists Arch's CA-C Wood Preservative
Arch Treatment Technologies' new dissolved copper azole preservative, Copper Azole type C (CA-C) has been approved by the American Wood Protection Association for listing in the AWPA Book of Standards.
The preservative couples dissolved copper with an azole co-biocide, featuring two azoles, propiconazole and tebuconazole, which have a synergistic fungicidal effect that has been patented. Retention levels for CA-C are lower than most comparable preservatives-0.06 lbs. per cubic ft. for above ground use and 0.15 pcf for ground contact.
Dissolved CA-C is one of two copper azole formulations used to protect wood sold as Wolmanized Residential Outdoor wood, for decking, fencing and other residential and commercial applications. Source: Cutler Publishing Inc. 23 Feb 2009 , Newport Beach, CA.

Scientific News

People in the News

In Memoriam - Ron Cockcroft

Ron Cockcroft died on Christmas Day 25th December 2008 at the age of 84 years. He fell asleep finally in his bed in the nursing home where he had spent the last six years of his life, almost every day visited and looked after by his wife Marianne.

Ron Cockcroft, Stockholm 1979

Read the obituary notice here

New Zealand: Contact required with timber workers exposed to PCP
Allen and Clarke Policy and Regulatory Specialists Ltd (Allen & Clarke) released the terms of reference for a project to design and consult widely on a possible support service for workers in the New Zealand timber industry who were historically exposed to pentachlorophenol (PCP).
Read more here.
From Friday Offcuts – 5 February 2009

IRG Secretariat News

IRG 40 in Beijing, China

The invitation package (pdf) and the online registration form for the 40th Annual Meeting of the IRG on 24-28 May 2008 is available on the IRG web site.
Please note the following deadlines
1 March 2009 - Title & author of proposed papers to the Secretary General
15 March 2009 - The full paper in MS Word format to the Secretary General.
The Chinese LOC is looking for more sponsors for the meeting. Please contact the IRG Secretariat, if you are interested in supporting the conference.
A reminder to all Members and Sponsors coming to the Annual Meeting – You should contact the IRG 40 Local Organizing Committee directly to receive a letter of invitation which will be needed for the visa application.

Regional Meeting in South Africa postponed until 2010
A ’follow-up regional meeting’ in South Africa is under consideration late November early December 2009. Planning is in progress by Mr Angus Currie of the South African Wood Preservers Association and other South African IRG Members as well as Prof Dr Pascal Kamdem, Michigan State University.
More information will come.

7th Pacific Regional Wood Anatomy Conference (PRWAC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
We would like to take this opportunity to cordially invite you to the 7th Pacific Regional Wood Anatomy Conference (PRWAC) that will be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 3rd - 5th August 2009. The conference will be jointly organised by the International Association of Wood Anatomists (IAWA) and Faculty of Forestry, University Putra Malaysia (UPM). Co-organisers include the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM), four other Malaysian Universities and the Forestry Departments of Sabah and Sarawak.
The conference will cover a wide range of topics in wood anatomy and related subjects. Oral and poster presentations will cover the following topics:

Anatomy of woody plants
Cambial activities and cell wall formation
Dendrochonology and forensic wood anatomy
Pathological wood anatomy and wood decay
Advances in wood identification
Anatomy and properties of plantation trees
Anatomy and properties of non-wood resources
Anatomy and Properties of medicinal plant
& Others

The first circular and Call for Papers has just been made available, and early registration and submission of papers and posters is possible online. To keep you abreast with the latest updates on this conference, please visit PRWAC official website here.
Should you have any queries, please feel free to call the PRWAC Secretariat:
Tel: +603-8946 7189 (Dr. H‘ng Paik San)
ngpaiksan@putra.upm.edu.my or
prwac@forr.upm.edu.my
We look forward to receiving a positive reply and welcoming you to the 7th Pacific Regional Wood Anatomy Conference (PRWAC) in the beautiful metropolis of Kuala Lumpur.
With best regards,
H‘ng Paik San,
7th Pacific Regional Wood Anatomy Conference secretariat
H'NG PAIK SAN, PhD.
FACULTY OF FORESTRY,
UNIVERSITI PUTRA MALAYSIA,
43400 SERDANG SELANGOR,
MALAYSIA

IRG Index database 2008 - Web based
The web-based Compendium and database has been updated with all papers prepared for the IRG 39 Annual Meeting. When all contributions for the IRG Americas Regional Meeting in Costa Rica have been received they will also be uploaded, see the IRG web site. Forgot your login ID? Please contact the IRG Secretariat.

Problems with the Compendium login ID?
Some members have reported problems with the Compendium login.
The following procedure seems to work in most cases:
First you need to clear your Internet cache. If you are using Internet Explorer, click on the Tools menu and then Internet Options. Find and select Clear temporary internet files.
In Mozilla Firefox, you choose Tools and then Clear sensitive data. Check Cache and Session data and hit clear.
If you have other problems with the Compendium access, please report back to the IRG Secretariat.
NB. In order to get renewed login ID, the 2009 dues must be paid.

Invoicing 2009
Members and Sponsors have been invoiced for 2009. Please pay up as soon as possible to save the Secretariat from sending numerous reminders.

Note on receipts
Please note when paying fees (member/sponsor fees, conference registration fees) to the IRG Secretariat, payments are acknowledged and receipts sent on request only.
Receipts are normally scanned and forwarded as pdf files. Due to technical problems receipts sometimes do no reach the member/sponsor/conference guest.
Please contact the IRG Secretariat, in case you have requested a receipt but not yet received it!

More Sponsors needed!
Members are asked to actively try to recruite more sponsors. The Group is heaviliy dependent on Sponsors in order to keep fees at a reasonably low level. A template for a suppporting letter, signed by our President, Dr Gérard Deroubaix, is available.
Click on link

Sponsor the IRG e-Newsletter in 2009
IRG regular sponsors and members' institutes are kindly invited to sponsor the production of the IRG e-Newsletter in order to cover the costs involved for production of the same.
The IRG e-Newsletter is scheduled for four issues in 2009.
A new model and fees structure for sponsoring the newsletter is under preparation. Instead of one Sponsor paying SEK 3000 and having the company logo appearing in one issue only, 15-20 sponsors could pay e.g. SEK 1000-1500 and having their logo appearing on all four issues during the year. An example is shown in this Newsletter.
Sponsors so far have been: Arch (UK), Arch (US), CSI, Dr Wolman GmbH, Janssen Pharmaceutica, Lanxess, Nisus Corporation, Osmose (US), Troy Corporation, US Borax, Dyrup (DK), Sankyo Agro, Viance, SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden (Trätek), Zelam, FCBA, The Swedish Wood Preserving Association and the MPA Eberswalde Material Testing Institute.
Please contact the IRG Secretariat, and let us know what you think about the proposed fees structure for sponsoring the e-Newsletter and if you are interested in sponsoring in 2009.

Contact details
Please report any change of contact details (address, e-mail, tel, fax) to the IRG Secretariat immediately in order to keep our register up to date and to facilitate the Secretariat's communication with Members and Sponsors.

Legal Information
Read legal information here

Editorial
If you have information related to wood protection being of general interest for Regular Members, Student Members or IRG Sponsors, please email to the NiB editor with the name of the web page and the URL.