Press Release: European Commission launches on-line consultation on proposal to ban arsenic wood preservatives

The European Commission launched on 11 December 2001an Internet consultation which will run until 8 February 2002 to gather stakeholders' views on a working document in preparation for a draft directive on the use of arsenic in the preservation of wood. The issue is a possible ban for the sale of arsenic-treated wood to consumers and a restriction of its use to a limited number of essential industrial applications.