Brussels, 26/10/2001 (Agence Europe) - Following a study showing that creosote has a greater potential to cause cancer than previously thought, the Commission has adopted a directive banning the sale to consumers of wood preservative creosote from 30 June 2003 onwards.
Creosote is a mixture of substances, one of which (benzo-a-pyrene or BaP) is used as a marker in the mixture and is not classified as carcinogenic in concentrations of less than 50 ppm. The study was presented to the Scientific Committee on Toxicology, Ecotoxicity and the Environment (CSTEE), which noted that new scientific evidence supports the view that there is a cancer risk to consumers from creosote with BaP at a lower concentration then currently allowed by Directive 94/60/EC and/or from creosote-treated wood. The new directive not only protects consumers, but tightens up restrictions on the industrial use of creosote-treated wood, which it bans from use where there is a risk of frequent skin contact (garden furniture for example). Creosote can still be used for industrial applications, eg railway sleepers and telegraph poles, but with tougher restrictions on its composition.