Tanasote hopes to replace threatened creosote post treatments
DISAPPOINTED that creosote’s days are numbered and that it looks likely that it will no longer be allowed to be used to protect fence posts and the like? – then a new product might be of interest.
The traditional use for creosote applications in fencing is well-known, but its use is in doubt across Europe when a decision on its future to treat fence posts had been reached after a vote of EU Member States. Creosotetreated fencing looks like it will be banned from sale in 2023 across Europe, with the UK expected to follow suit.
In 2003, the EU took the decision to ban the amateur use of creosote as a precautionary measure, because of concerns around the impacts of creosote on human health and the environment, but approvals for professional and industrial use of creosote products were allowed to continue.
However, these approvals – made under the EU Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) – placed restrictions on the type of products and on where wood treated with creosote can be used. Under the BPR, creosote was approved for use on railway sleepers, highways fencing, overhead electricity and telecommunication poles, as well as stakes, poles and, crucially, fencing for agricultural use.
The active creosote had its approval expiry date postponed until July 24, 2023. This meant that many of the product authorisations will now end on October 31, 2023, according to the NFU in England.
Now, help in protecting timber as the ‘go to’ material for agriculture and heavyduty fencing applications has seen Tanasote being developed as a highperformance alternative to traditional creosote treatments.
With BPR authorisation in 20 countries, Tanasote has been subject to extensive risk assessments covering the environment, as well as human and animal health.
The product is a modern, hot oil-based copper wood preservative developed to protect timbers in the harshest of environments and is seen as an ideal solution for agricultural fencing.
With more than a decade of research and development, Tanasote wood preservative has been developed to deliver a service life of 40-years plus, depending on commodity, desired service life, timber species and application. This modern alternative to creosote was launched in Europe in April, 2021, following its BPR authorisation.
That means it has been authorised for use in many instances, including poles and sleepers, for at least 10 years, which is the maximum authorisation period under the BPR before reauthorisation. It has passed all necessary environmental, human and animal health risk assessments, as well as generating extensive data to prove that it is effective against wood-destroying fungi and/or insects, said its manufacturer, Arxada.
It added that to prove its ‘real-world’ performance in demanding of environments, Tanasote had been subjected to additional testing in high humidity and accelerated agricultural trials, as well as laboratory fungal studies. Extensive testing of waterrepellent properties had also been undertaken.
Other benefits included deep preservative penetration and mobility in the treated timber, low odour, long-lasting waterrepellence to minimise splitting and an innovative organic co-biocide to protect against a wide spectrum of aggressive decay fungi.
Dr Stephen Uphill, technical lead for wood protection at Arxada, commented: “If wood is to be kept as a primary material of choice in important agriculture applications, the industry needs to be bold and adopt modern and innovative BPR-authorised alternatives.
“Future wood protection technologies should confidently deliver both high performance and a lower environmental impact than other materials, such as steel and concrete.
“Tanasote is an exciting and proven alternative that will meet these criteria. An innovative preservative system from our experienced development team, it is designed to meet the future needs of high-performance timber applications, such as those used in agriculture.”