Timber Treatment Chemicals

In 2003, ERMA New Zealand published an assessment by Dr Deborah Read of the public health aspects of CCA-treated timber use in playgrounds and residential buildings in New Zealand. As a result, the Authority concluded it was unnecessary to undertake a formal reassessment of CCA under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act. However, the Authority endorsed the need for a range of activities to minimise the risks of exposure to CCA. This included ERMA New Zealand maintaining a watching brief on re-registration assessments being carried out overseas and other developments in New Zealand, and internationally on the use and better management of CCA timber treatments.

ERMA New Zealand employed consultant Dr Bruce Graham to review activities relevant to the use of CCA timber treatment chemicals in New Zealand. Dr Graham's reports, in May 2005, June 2006 and June 2009, provide an update on regulatory developments internationally, along with a review of relevant activities within New Zealand. Sections of the reports cover how recommendations of the Read Report have been utilised by the Government Interagency Group and industry.

The work noted in the reports provides continuing support for the stance adopted by ERMA New Zealand in response to the 2003 Read Report. However, the steady flow of published papers and reports shows that the subject is still attracting significant interest within New Zealand and elsewhere.

Reports

June 2009 Update of the Review of Activities Relevant to the Use of CCA Timber Treatment Chemicals, prepared by Dr Bruce Graham
June 2008 Tin-Based Wood Preservatives: Review of International Regulatory Status and the Potential Hazards from Handling and Use of the Treated Timber. Prepared by Dr Bruce Graham [pdf - 216kb]
June 2006 Update of the Review of Activities Relevant to the Use of CCA Timber Treatment Chemicals, prepared by Dr Bruce Graham [pdf - 204kb]
May 2005 Review of Activities Relevant to the Use of CCA Timber Treatment Chemicals in New Zealand, prepared by Dr Bruce Graham [pdf - 282kb]
02 May 2003 CCA Report - Dr Deborah Read [pdf - 244 kb]
02 May 2003 Report from the Authority [pdf - 29 kb]
02 May 2003 Questions and Answers [pdf - 42 kb]
10 Jan 2002 European Economic Community (EEC) restricts use of CCA [pdf - 25 kb]

Media Releases

02 May 2003 CCA - Treated Timber
17 Mar 2003 ERMA New Zealand CCA Study release update
13 Mar 2003 Registration of Arsenic Based Timber Treatments to be Reviewed (Australian Pesticides & Veterinary Medicines Authority website)
07 Feb 2003 Public Briefing on CCA Pressure-Treated Wood Playground Equipment Scheduled (from United States Consumer Protection Safety Commission (CPSC)
29 Nov 2002 Report on copper, chromium and arsenic commissioned by ERMA New Zealand

Terms of Reference

Last Modified 7 July 2009