TANASOTE® GIVES HOPE TO IRISH FARMING COMMUNITY AFTER CREOSOTE BAN
The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) classifies creosote as a carcinogen in category 1B, meaning every effort should be made to avoid and effectively minimise the use of the substance and human exposure to it.
In November 2022, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) confirmed that the EU had moved to ban the sale and use of creosote-treated timber fencing from 30 April 2023.
The ban, especially in relation to agricultural and equine fencing, has understandably resulted in confusion and worry amongst the Irish farming community. However, Tanasote®, a modern hot oil-based copper wood preservative has been providing a viable alternative for some time.
With over a decade of research and development and with Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) authorisation in 22 countries,including Ireland, Tanasote® has been subject to extensive risk assessments covering the environment, as well as human and animal health.
Developed to protect industrial timbers, Tanasote® has been specifically designed to minimise early failures whilst providing a long service life. With its performance credentials being verified by BM TRADA, an independent third-party assessor, Tanasote® treated timber is an ideal solution for heavy-duty landscaping applications such as livestock fencing, and provides those looking for a replacement to creosote-treated timber with a proven alternative.
As well as independent field test trials, Tanasote® has been tested in commercial size commodities in collaboration with customers. Back in 2019, a 150-metre run of Tanasote® treated stock fencing was installed by Tim Bennett Farm Fencing, a contractor with 30 years’ experience working directly with farmers, landowners and land agent companies managing farms and estates across the UK and Europe.
Of the installation, Tim says: “In my experience, four years is enough time to detect a failing post, and I can see no sign of failure on any Tanasote® post I have installed. There is no sign of plant and vegetation ‘burn’ around the base of the posts and even though when first delivered the posts were green, they soon browned when out in the sunlight.
“Tanasote has a distinctive smell, but it is not as invasive as creosote. It is not a smell you take home with you at the end of a working day, or one you revisit each time you open your toolbox. Out in the field you would not notice the smell at all. With the health and safety concerns surrounding creosote, I think Tanasote® offers a very viable alternative that from a contractors’ perspective, is greatly preferable to work with.”
In 2020, Tanasote® treated posts and rails were installed in four UK locations as fencing for equestrian use. In one instance, hay bales were hung on the posts to encourage the horses to approach. After two years, there was no observable evidence of cribbing on any of the Tanasote® treated fence rails, and none of the site owners reported seeing their horses cribbing on the treated timber.
To find out more about Tanasote® timber preservation technology, visit www.trusttanasote.com
