IRG Newsletter 0309

03/2009 13 July

Member News

Greetings from the President
Greetings to all IRG Members and Sponsors!
Read letter from the President

2009 Ron Cockroft Award recipients
Read information

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: Revision of the Biocidal Products Directive (BPD)
On 12 June 2009, the European Commission adopted a proposal for a Regulation concerning the placing on the market and use of biocidal products COM(2009) 267. The proposed Regulation will repeal and replace the current Directive 98/8/EC concerning the placing of biocidal products on the market.
The revision of the Biocides Directive intends to remedy a number of weaknesses that were identified during the first eight years of its implementation, to anticipate problems with the upcoming authorisation and mutual recognition procedure, and to update and adapt the instrument to recent policy developments.
Short summary of the most relevant changes:

The Directive is turned into a Regulation. As a result, there will be no need for a transposition period or for national transposition measures, which is also expected to ensure more harmonised implementation of the regulatory framework in the Member States.
The scope is amended to cover also materials treated with biocides. The current directive only covers the biocidal products and therefore, the import of articles treated with biocides that are not allowed in the EU could continue.
It is now proposed that all articles or materials must be treated only with biocidal products authorised for that purpose in at least one Member State.
The proposed article 47 requires that all treated articles or materials shall be labelled with the following information:

the name of all active substances that were used to treat the article or materials or that were incorporated in the articles or materials;
where relevant, the biocidal property attributed to treated articles or materials;
the authorisation number of all biocidal products that were used for the treatmentmor were incorporated in the articles or materials;
any hazard statement or precautionary statement set out in the authorisation for the biocidal product.
The labeling shall be clearly visible, easily legible and appropriately durable.
This proposal would mean that all articles treated with a biocide (EU produced and imported) must be labeled.
The procedures for mutual recognition have been reworked and clarified;
The data protection system is simplified.

The proposal will now be discussed within the European Parliament and the European Council of Ministers.
Source: WEI WEI doc. 3324 - Brussels, 15 June 2009.

Europe: Industrial Emissions – Wood preservation
The European Union is working on a Proposal for a Directive on industrial emissions. The Proposal recasts seven existing Directives including the current International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Directive. The draft Directive lays down measures rules designed to prevent or, where that is not practicable, to reduce emissions in the air, water and land for listed industrial activities.
The European Commission adopted a proposal in December 2007. In this proposal the Commission proposes to include wood preservation companies with a production capacity exceeding 75 m3 per day. The text has since then be discussed by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers. Some Members of the European Parliament introduced amendments to lower the threshold for wood preservation from 75 m3 to 50 m3 per day. The draft Council conclusions indicate that the Council of Ministers does not support the lowering of the threshold and wishes to maintain the 75 m3.
A copy of the draft Council conclusions can be obtained from the WEI Secretariat.
Source: WEI Newsletter Issue 2/09 - Brussels, May 2009.

Europe: prEN 15228 – Structural timber preservative treated against biological attack
CEN has approved the final draft of prEN 15228 on structural timber preservative treated against biological attack. This European Standard specifies general requirements for structural timber that has been treated with preservatives against biological attack. It also specifies requirements for the evaluation of conformity and marking of preservative treated timber products when they are placed on the market. Treatments which include a biocide are covered by this standard. It does not provide details of which preservative treatments are necessary for a particular type of structural timber product to achieve a required service life, as regional climatic differences and prevalent biological agents would need to be taken into account for that purpose.
A copy of the Standard can be obtained from the WEI Secretariat.
Source: WEI Newsletter Issue 2/09 - Brussels, May 2009.

Business News

Australia, New Zealand:Latest Wood Preservation resources now on line
Wood Preservation 2009 was a unique three yearly update on new wood treatment technologies, research, changing standards and key developments from Australasia, North America and Europe.
Read more here.
From Friday Offcuts – 19 June 2009.

USA: Research and Markets: Wood Preservation Industry in the U.S. and its Foreign Trade [2009 Edition]
The Wood Preservation Industry report 2009 is announced to be the most comprehensive market research report available on this industry. With complete 2008 data and sophisticated forecasts for 2009, the report provides the most updated data and analysis on the industry’s key financial data, cost and pricing, competitive landscape, industry structure, and trends and opportunities.
The 153-page report includes the most recent information on the domestic market, global market and overseas growth opportunities. This detailed information resource, independently researched and supported by 10 years of historical data, identifies best and worst case scenarios of today‘s pressing challenges. While the breadth of coverage leaves no aspect of the industry uncovered, the depth of analysis delves into granular macroeconomic data on personal consumption, channel mix, government demand index, and pricing fluctuation.
Read more here.
From Earth Times.

Scientific News

New Zealand: New study out comparing structural wood with steel
Engineered wood product Laminated Veneer Lumber (LVL) can reduce the impact on global warming when used in place of steel and will also save on overall project costs.
Read more here.
From Friday Offcuts – 05 June 2009.

The ‘Rot Bot’ Website is Now Live – Please Submit
The Biodeterioration Diagnostics Database (aka the ‘Rot Bot’) is now ready to accept the first case study submissions to ‘populate’ the site: http://www.therotbot.com
The Rot Bot is a website that does one thing - collect your case studies and images of wood biodeterioration. This includes abiotic damage, mold, stain, rot, insect, and marine borer attack. The next generation of wood deterioration experts will learn better and faster about real-world biodeterioration issues if they can study real-world cases. Case studies complement what is learned from biological texts. They are exciting. Otherwise, gaining experience in the field takes years, and we are losing opportunities to get outside and put our hands on the issues. Also, the bioproducts industry is evolving rapidly and diversifying. It is hard to stay current. This knowledge gap will grow without our help, and the consequences include higher cost, increased risk, and excessive material waste. I think technology can help us improve diagnosis of 'disease' in buildings, just like online databases have helped clinical pathologists practice diagnosing disease in people.
Please consider submitting a case study, either spectacular awe-inspiring damage or something common. Instructions are on the site, it is easy, and it is something you can cite for your files using standard formats (e.g., APA, AMA, Harvard) for electronic database publications. The site was built to be as invisible as possible and to require little computer skill. The goal is to use technology as a tool, not a curiosity, in order to enhance knowledge transfer from the leaders in our field to those who hold its future.
Please contact me with any comments/questions:
Jonathan S. Schilling, Ph.D. Jonathan S. Schilling - phone: 612-624-1761
Bioproducts & Biosystems Engineering (BBE) - University of Minnesota

Termite Info Link
A new network for scientists interested in termite research has been established. For further information, please contact Mr Jim Creffield

People in the News

USA: "Wood Award" price winners
Dr. Yuhui Qian and Mr. Daniel Yelle received the first and second place "Wood Award" this year, respectively. Congratulations to them both. The Award is given by the Forest Products Society and is described as such: "The Wood Award, honors the most outstanding research in the field of wood and wood products conducted by graduate students."

Dr. Yuhui Qian

Dr. Yuhui Qian was born in Harbin, China. He attended Nanjing Forest University, majoring in Forest Products. He received his Bachelor's degree with university honors in July, 1992, and subsequently attended the graduate school in Nanjing Forest University, graduating in 1994 with a Master's degree in Chemical Engineering. As an assistant engineer, he had been working at the Institute of Chemical Engineering of Forest Products in Chinese Academy of Forestry from 1994 to 1997. In September 1997, he joined the graduate program in Wood Science and Technology at the University of Maine, and graduated with an M.S. degree in Forestry and a 5th year Certificate in Pulp and Paper Management in 2000. He also studied in Computer Science at the University of Maine and graduated with an M.S. in Computer Science in 2002. Yuhui received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Forest Resources from the University of Maine in December, 2008. He studied fungal degradation mechanisms and received his PhD in December 2008 under the guidance of Professor Barry Goodell. The title of Dr. Qian’s paper was “Nonenzymatic Wood Decay Mechanisms and Biotechnological Applications of Brown-Rot Fungi“ by Yuhui Qian under Dr. Barry Goodell’s guidance.

Mr. Daniel Yelle

Mr. Daniel Yelle works at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, Wisconsin. He received his M.S. degree from the University of Maine in Wood Science, under the guidance of Barry Goodell. Mr. Yelle worked on a research related to fungal degradation mechanisms and the application of these mechanisms for autobonding of lignin for adhesive applications.
Daniel Yelle is a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison working with Professor Dr. John Ralph on new analytical techniques for exploring wood cell wall chemistry. Daniel's PhD research project utilizes wood cell wall dissolution and solution-state NMR spectroscopy to investigate covalent bond formation between wood and adhesives. The title of the paper the Mr. Yelle was judged on is “Investigating the reactivity of pMDI with wood cell walls using high-resolution solution-state NMR spectroscopy“, by Daniel J. Yelle under the guidance of Professor Dr. John Ralph.

IRG Secretariat News

IRG 40 in Beijing, China

The world wide financial crisis and the outbreak of the swine flu had a considerable influence on the number of international registrants (155, companions included) for the 40th Annual Meeting in Beijing. The total attendance was thus somewhat lower, around 230 from 26 countries, than previous years.
The meeting, including the companions' programme, was very well organised, thanks to the enthusiastic crew of the local organising committee. All delegates were given a nice plaque to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the IRG.
During the opening Plenary the delegates were reminded that the former Secretary-General Mr Ron Cockcroft had passed away since the last meeting and he was honoured with a moment of silence.
More than 100 papers were presented during the meeting, with key note papers and a special session on wood preservation in China as one of the main topics. Papers on micronized copper were again attracting major interest and discussion as well as papers on service life issues for wood and wood-based products. The presentations at the meeting will be available on the IRG website shortly.
The scientific plenary was devoted to a discussion on the needs for research in the area of wood protection. There were six short presentations providing three different perspectives on 'research that is being done', 'research that should be done' and factors driving research. There were two presentations from industry, two from Government and two from academia. It was really interesting to hear about involvement in research from three different perspectives and there was a lot of positive feedback from the session.
From the meeting can also be reported:

During the meeting, the first Chinese sponsor joined the IRG: Fernz Construction Building materials (GZ).
The membership fees for 2010 will be unchanged; a slight increase was decided for the sponsorship fee (from SEK 7 900 to SEK 8 500)
The conference fees will also be the same next year, except for companions. The fee was raised from SEK 600 to SEK 1 000
New officers on the Executive Council were appointed: Dr Berhan Ahmed, Australia and Dr Edmond Wozniak, France
Prof Dr D Pascal Kamdem was appointed to the vacancy on the Finance Committee
A new team for Section 3 was appointed: Chair: Dr Radu Craciun, Germany, and Vice chair: Dr Xiao Jiang, USA
Mr Bengt Möller, Sweden, was appointed as auditor for the fiscal year 2009, together with Prof Björn Henningsson.
Ms Chunling Liu, UBC Vancouver, was awarded the Gareth Williams Scholarship Award for the best presentation by a student during the meeting. Congratulations!
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was selected for the 2012 meeting by the Plenary.
Before the meeting, eighteen members representing a cross section of the membership reviewed a strategic statement which is to form the basis of a Strategic plan for IRG.

A Purpose Statement
A Vision
Values of IRG
Objectives for the Organization
Stake holders and
Strategy statemen

The report from the Plenary (IRG/WP 09-60279) can now be obtained.
Just click on the link!.

Click on the thumbs to enlarge and download the pictures from IRG 40 in Beijing

IRG Index database 2009 - BIBLIO Version
The IRG index database 2009 is ready for those who intend to continue working with VCH BIBLIO. The searchable database has more than 4100 entries from 1969 - 2009. You may order the Index as ususual from the IRG Secretariat.

Problems with the web-based search engine and Compendium
The problems with the web-based documents search function and Compendium are now solved and it is possible again to log in and search for IRG documents. In case your log in ID doesn’t work, please contact the Secretariat and we’ll submit new log in credentials.

Double numbering of IRG documents in 2008?
As the watchful member probably has seen, there are two papers with the same number:
08-50252 (IRG 39 paper) Ilker Usta, Salih Aslan: Radial flow of Bornmullerian fir (Abies bornmulleriana Mattf.) as affected by wood tapering and the condition of end wall structure of uniseriate ray parenchyma cells.
and
08-50252 (IRG Americas paper) Ibáñez C.; Mantero C.; Cecchetto G.; Rabinovich M.; Cerdeiras M.: Wood preservative obtained by recycling – preliminary selection of leaching inhibitor.
At the IRG 39 meeting in Istanbul, the paper by Usta et al was considered to be a Section 4 paper, so after the meeting it was actually re-numbered by the Secretariat and assigned number IRG/WP 08-40441. The re-numbered paper appears on the IRG 40 CD and has also been uploaded on the web-site Compendium.

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

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.

Sponsors

Click the logo to visit the e-Newsletter sponsor!

Updated: Events

4th International Bioenergy 2009 Confenrence - Sustainable Bioenergy Business
(31 August - 04 September 2009, Jyväskylä, Finland)
International Panel Products Symposium - IPPS 2009
(16 - 18 September 2009, Nantes, France)
6th Wood & Wood Products Expo
(22 - 24 October 2009, Beijing, China International Exhibition Center (CIEC)
Third International Coating Wood and Wood Composite Conference: Durable and Sustainable - Today and Beyond
(Fall 2009, Charlotte, NC, US)
MEDACHS' 10 - 2nd International Conference - Marine Environment Damage to Coastal and Historical Structures
(28 - 30 April 2010, La Rochelle, France)
XXIII IUFRO World Congress: "Forests for the Future: Sustaining Society and the Environment"
(22 - 28 August 2010, Seoul, Republic of Korea)

COST Actions

Start of Action: 18/04/2007
End of Action: 17/04/2011

The Procedures Manual
The IRG Procedures Manual ia a "handbook" for IRG Members and Sponsors. It has the following contents: