Objetivo
A. Background
Wood is a renewable raw material with a low energy demand and of high economic importance for industrial sectors such as construction, furniture and the packaging industry in Europe. One specific property of wood limiting its cost-effectiveness in use is its biodegradability. The significance of wood protection is to ensure high quality of the raw material as well optimum whole life costs for any kind of wood construction. However, traditional chemical wood preservation relies on biocides which may involve health risks and environmental problems. As a result wood preservatives and treating methods need improvement and new protective methods need to be developed and promoted which reduce or avoid the use of conventional biocides and so reduce the environmental impacts of wood protection systems. For this purpose the COST Action E2 "Wood Durability" started on 02-02-94, to co-ordinate ongoing European research work in this field. 18 countries participated in this Action involving scientists from all wood-preservation-related fields. This Action had to cover a broad area considering that wood durability is of an interdisciplinary nature.
Through COST Action E2, several lines of collaborative research work have been initiated and advanced, some leading to EU projects such as under SM&T and FAIR as well as to joint national research programmes. The main achievements of this co-operation were: - establishing a basis for improved prediction of natural or enhanced durability by relating results from field tests to those from the newly developed laboratory soil testing systems using soil as TMC (terrestrical microcosms);
- initiation of the development of a EURO-index for prescribing the decay hazard of various regions of Europe depending on the specific climate conditions;
- establishment of collaborative programmes on chemical modification of wood and additives to achieve resistance against wood attacking organisms;
- development of improved methods for handling treated timber after use;
- development of new rationales to appraise the environmental impacts of creosote and prediction of its efficacy in use;
- establishment of a very wide European co-operation involving Southern and Eastern countries;
- encouragement of a more integrated and cohesive European research community through extensive new networking by young scientists under Short Term Scientific Missions.
The natural biological effects which wood durability must combat take place over many years and options for accelerating the effects are limited. Hence certain lines of work initiated and developed under COST Action E.2 remain incomplete. Furthermore the practical exploitation of the results of the research requires close collaboration and involvement with industry. COST Action E.2 has made very significant progress in its last 1-11/2 years in recruiting and collaborating with industry and this now needs to be expanded and extended. Equally, very good progress has been made in integrating the particular European needs, knowledge and experience of the Southern and Eastern countries under COST Action E.2 and this needs to be extended. Different regulatory frameworks across Europe impact considerably on the priorities and up-take of improvements in environmental technologies and the Biocidal Products Directive is now having very significant impacts on wood preservation practice, creating vital new priorities for research.
In addition, the European standardisation framework in relation to the Construction Products Directive has developed considerably during the progress of COST Action E.2 presenting new needs for co-ordination and co-operation in supplying the research background. For all these reasons, it is important now to extend the networks and co-operation partnerships established under COST Action E.2 to cover new areas and to i) exploit its specific achievements and ii) to provide the focus for optimising the critical environmental factors which affect the quality of life of the population of Europe, and the competitiveness and job creation capability of the respective industries in the wood and construction chain. These environmental optimisation issues include:
- improved, end-use orientated test methods for predicting performance and determining environmental impact,
- defining minimum durability requirements for specific commodities in specific geographic locations, to optimise/minimise preservative use, and to reduce environmental impact,
- bench-marking the minimum use of biocides by defining minimum threshold conditions in wood which allow biotic attack,
- defining and specifying the bio-effective life and minimum amounts of biocides for specific components in specific end-uses, to optimise/minimise preservative use and reduce environmental impact,
- optimising biocide performance, service life and biodegradability, to optimise/ minimise preservative use and reduce environmental impact,
- review, scale up and exploitation of the most promising new innovations having more environmentally friendly characteristics,
- optimising risk assessment techniques and remediation technologies to minimise environmental impact.
A new COST Action is required to focus on these issues as well as to add value to the investment in the previous COST Action E.2 and in the EU Framework research programmes by providing a Network through which results from EU projects are shared with non-participants. An analysis of the achievements of COST Action E.2 together with continuing and new needs, is given in the appendix attached.
B. Objectives and Benefit
The main overall objective of this COST-project is to improve and consequently to increase the cost-effective use of European wood by means of optimising the environmental factors relating to its durability. It will seek to achieve this by completing, extending and applying the most promising specific results achieved in the preceding COST Action E2 "Wood Durability", as well as by addressing the new needs.
Specific objectives are:
- to provide state of the art review reports or targeted presentations on specific environmental optimisation issues, including:
° reducing reliance on traditional biocidal wood preservatives by improved guidance in specifying durability requirements (Workshop).
° new principles for impact studies on risk assessment (Seminar)
° determining and defining optimum bio-effective life (Seminar)
° improved knowledge on the remediation of wood preservatives in service (Seminar),
° improved techniques for handling wood wastes and treated wood after service (Seminar),
° improved safety and effectiveness in the use of creosote and creosote-based products (Workshop),
° definition of a new microbiological basis for common testing methods to predict field performance using soil (Report),
° options for the practical application of modified wood (Report),
° preservative effect of heat treatment (Report),
° significance of wood attacking insects in Europe depending on climatical conditions (Seminar)
° applicability of insect growth regulators (Seminar)
- to complete a EURO hazard decay index system and to start a new EURO insect decay information system for classifying the decay hazard of different regions of Europe;
- to facilitate inter-change of experience, techniques and personnel between European research institutes and organisations;
- to hold conferences, workshops and seminars to provide up-to-date information on potential improvements in wood protection products and techniques for personnel involved in research and development;
Specific topics may prove suitable for COST Studies.
The expected benefits for the scientific community, from this new COST Action are
- effective and rapid sharing of information across Europe on relevant new research needs of the community and of industry;
- adding value to ongoing co-operative research programmes (at the national as well as European level) and initiation of further new ones;
- exchange of skills and experience across Europe in specific laboratory research techniques through short-term scientific missions.
- sharing of information from specific national research programmes and completed EU projects;
- development of interdisciplinary research activities.
The expected economic and technical benefits are :
- improved guidance in specifying durability requirements to reduce reliance on traditional biocidal wood preservatives;
- improvement of design methods and guidance to diminish the risk of biological attack and reduce whole life costs of timber structures and products in service;
- development and exploitation of new markets for European timber resources, increased added value through better understanding of degradation of wood and possibilities for improving its durability;
- development and validation of new techniques for defining and optimising the activity profiles, bio-effective life and biodegradability of biocides,
- establishing a more robust technical basis for improved regulations with respect to health and safety aspects of chemical wood preservation;
- improved techniques and protocols for handling of wastes and of preserved timber after service;
- increase knowledge, skills and experience transfer through immediate exchange of scientists under Short Term Scientific Missions.
- effective transfer of knowledge from the new Action to other on-going Actions in the field of wood technology and wood utilisation;
C. Scientific programme
Type of activities to achieve the objectives:
- workshops, seminars, conferences,
- drawing up of state of the art reports and/or studies,
- exchange of research workers and Ph.D. students by short-term scientific missions,
- exchange of publications and documentation, and development of databases,
- rapid, interactive exchange of information via INTERNET/Web site networking,
- direct liaison with industry representatives,
- integration of specific requirements arising from the Biocidal Products Directive,
Construction Products Directive and activities of OECD and CEN/TC 38,
- input of specific European issues to international conferences such as the International Research Group on Wood Preservation.
Scientific areas
The scope of COST Action E2 was deliberately broad but this still left many areas incompletely or not covered at all. In this new Action specific areas will be covered in a more targeted way and some new ones introduced. The scientific areas to be covered are:
1 Performance
° classifying hazard including risk mapping (COST Indexes separately for fungi and insects,
° efficacy prediction (relationship between testing and practice),
° improved guidance in durability performance,
° maximum protection with minimum use of preservative chemicals,
° determining bio-effective life of biocides,
° scientific basis for realistic, end-use predictive tests,
2 Impacts
° risk assessment methods and rationale, including impact studies,
° implementing remediation technologies,
° recycling and disposal,
° scientific basis for quantifying biodegradability,
3 Innovations
° scale up and exploitation of non toxic treatments,
° physiological inhibitors/attractants,
° insect growth regulators ,
° scale-up and exploitation of chemical modification systems,
° `natural´ biocidal products and systems,
D Timetable and organisation
The proposed timetable and organisation of the Action follows the principles of the previous Action
which have proved efficient and successful.
The duration of the Action is 4 years
MC Management Committee: which will meet every 6 months to co-ordinate the activities in the Action. It will maintain contact with the participating countries through two-way reporting of the national delegates, and will promote, evaluate and approve short-term scientific missions as well as setting up an efficient INTERNET network. The MC will be assisted by a Core Group consisting of its Chairman, Vice Chairman, and the WG-leaders WG: Working Groups
The Action will comprise three WG's in order to provide a focus for the co-ordination work:
- WG 1: Performance
- WG 2: Impacts
- WG 3: Innovations
The WG's will be responsible for the co-ordination of relevant research work within their scope by organizing workshops and will ensure interchange by maintaining close contacts between themselves. Further tasks of the WG's are:
- to initiate new research activities,
- to gain information on what is going on in the different countries, in Europe and world-wide in the scientific field of the Action.
FC Final conference: to review and summarize the research activities within the Action and to present the status achieved.
STSM Short-term scientific missions: which shall take place depending upon applications from the participating laboratories and after evaluation of their scientific value.
The Action undertakes to maintain good contact with the COST Technical Committee on Forests and Forestry Products through:
- a written Annual Report to the TC submitted through the Wood Technology Sector Group,
- attendance of the Chairman of the Action or his representative at one of the bi-annual Sector Group meetings,
- contributing to the TC's Activity Report,
- supporting the mid-term and final evaluation Panels of experts.
E Economic dimension
The following countries were actively engaged in the previous Action E2 and they are expected to participate in the new Action:
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Netherlands
Norway
Portugal
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom
In addition Romania showed its interest on an Action in the field of wood preservation. This means at least 18 participating countries can be expected.
Assuming that the countries mentioned above will participate in the Action and taking into account the co-ordination costs to be covered by the European Commission, the overall cost of the activities to be carried out under the Action has been estimated, at 1998 prices, at roughly EUR 60 million.
Programa(s)
Tema(s)
Convocatoria de propuestas
Data not availableRégimen de financiación
Data not availableCoordinador
Reino Unido