Wood-based composite building materials: safety assessment in Ukraine and the EU technical regulation system
Authors: Prodanchuk M.G. , Oboronova T.S. , Bobyliova O.O. , Dyshinevich N.Ye. , Pereguda O.L. , Kalashnikov A.A. 
Published: June 2023

Abstract. Composite building materials based on wood (further ‒ wood plastics) remain a key object of sanitary and hygienic research as an important source of marker air pollutants in residential premises.

Aim. Generalization of the results of sanitary and hygienic studies of wood plastics that are in circulation on the market of Ukraine; comparative analysis of individual provisions of the system of technical regulation of the specified products in the EU and Ukraine.

Materials and Methods. Directives of EU countries in the field of technical regulation of chemically hazardous construction materials and sanitary legislation of Ukraine; data of sanitary-hygienic researches of the air of residential premises based on complaints of residents of the city of Kyiv, carried out by the "Kyiv City Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" (2010-2019); the results of chamber studies of samples (N=4859) of building products based on wood plastics and furniture, performed in the polymer hygiene laboratory of the State Enterprise "L.I. Medved’s Research Center of Preventive Toxicology, Food and Chemical Safety of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine" (2010-2019). Statistical analysis ‒ Microsoft Excel 2019.

Results. According to the research data of wood-plastic samples, a high level of their compliance with technical requirements and quality parameters and hygienic standards of Ukraine was established, so over the 10 years of research, the average deviations were: glued plywood, veneered panels, other laminated wood materials - 3.59% (n=1234); fiberboard boards made of wood or other wood materials with or without the addition of resins or other substances ‒ 1.36% (n=1512); chipboard boards, with oriented chips and similar boards (for example, wafer boards) ‒ 1.73% (n=1441); furniture samp-les – 1.6% (n=672). At the same time, an increase in the number of cases of exceeding the concentration of phenol and formaldehyde in relation to the MPC average daily in the air of residential premises of multi-apartment buildings during the same period was found: phenol by 2.86 times (R2=0.764), formaldehyde by 2.7 times (R2=0.529). The difference between wood-plastic samples sent for sanitary-hygienic research and those products that enter residential premises is not excluded, and cases of wood-plastic use in residential premises that are not intended are also found. Fundamental differences in the approaches of the EU and Ukraine to the assessment of the safety of composite building materials still remain unsettled. Difficulties in adapting the product safety regulatory system in the EU for introduction in Ukraine are due to the methodology of risk assessment for human health as a key tool for substantiating product and commodity safety standards. The main distinguishing feature of the EU legal framework on this issue is the recognition of product safety based on the absence of unacceptable risk, and the methodology that was implemented in the Soviet period (more than 30-40 years ago) is based on the principle of "zero risk".

Conclusions. There is a need to harmonize the EU system of technical regulation and safety for construction products based on wood with the approaches that are in force in Ukraine, which will contribute to updating the national sanitary legislation, methodology, criteria, and methodical approaches to ensure the safety of a wide range of construction products for the population. An effective tool on this path can be the development and implementation of a targeted interdisciplinary state program.

Key Words: wood plastics, risk assessment, technical regulation.