Jack Norton, president of the International Research Group (IRG) on Wood Protection, spoke at the Wood Preservation 2012 conference on the outcomes of the recent International Research Group meeting in Malaysia held in early May. Source: Timberbiz
The IRG is a structured group of scientists and technologists focused on generating knowledge of the science of wood deterioration, and providing solutions that are sustainable and environmentally responsible.
IRG’s primary function is to provide opportunities for the exchange of ideas and information in an informal atmosphere, unencumbered by refereeing of papers or other pre-conditions. Hence the primary vehicle for this is the annual meeting where around 100 to 200 papers are presented and published.
This year some of the items that came up for discussion at the meeting included:
– Whether the fear of using chemicals is driving the industry to use poorer systems
– Were usual approval systems for products being circumvented and approvals then issued by people who did not understand the issues
– Were too many decisions made in Europe based only on lab testing with no field testing
All papers from the IRG meeting are available free to members and sponsors in electronic format through the online searchable database.
Since 1969 more than 5000 papers have been published. Non-members of the IRG are able to search the online database and purchase any paper for download through the website. Abstracts of the papers are free.
www.irg-qp.org
