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railway sleeper treatments |
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The
three most common treatments for railway sleepers:
1) TAR & CREOSOTE - used
for over 150 years to lengthen life of timber
2) ACQ / Tannalised - latest 'environmentally friendly' pressure treatments
3) UNTREATED - some hardwoods are naturally longlasting, & untreated |
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DEADLY
or DIVINE? Rumours SPREAD!
IS THERE A HEALTH PROBLEM WITH TAR & CREOSOTE ?
Are railway sleepers safe? Scarey newspaper articles ! Will sleepers be banned
!
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1
MINUTE VERSION
... for those in a hurry to get
into their gardens !
From June 30th 2003 EEC and British
law ruled that:
Used Creosoted railway sleepers COULD continue
to be sold & used safely with some exceptions and
guidelines:
**They should NOT be used where there is a risk of
frequent skin contact, (e.g.schools, play areas, benches
etc..) **They should NOT be used where where they may come into contact
with food stuffs, (e.g. picnic tables)
**They should NOT be used inside buildings.
(e.g. fireplaces)
There was NO PROBLEM with USED UNTREATED railway sleepers, NEW untreated
or ACQ tannalised sleepers
So, to sum up... Don't use creosoted
sleepers around children, food, or inside
Don't sit on them, eat off them, or put them indoors! HANDLE with GLOVES
So there you have it ... Get out there and
plant! .. .. ...... ... |
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FOR
THE LONGER VERSION SEE
BELOW ! Also:
*
COMPARING TREATMENTS *
* QUESTIONS & ANSWERS *from
the Dept.of Trade & Industry
* YOUR COMMON QUESTIONS* & maybe a few answers!
* SUCKING CREOSOTE 20 TIMES A DAY !* Kicking the habit !
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1) TAR & CREOSOTE
A dilemma in the world of reclamation is this: on the one hand
you recycle materials (rather than dumping or burning them) which is creative
and environmentally sound, and saves on trees being chopped down. On the other
hand you are encouraging the use of timbers which may have been creosote-treated
decades ago in less than green times, and are maybe full of pollutants. So
are we environmentalists or polluters ?
Scientists recently discovered that the previously safe level of 50 parts
per million of benzopyrene in creosote was now unsafe, which led on to EEC
restrictions regarding the use of 'new creosote', and to a lesser extent 'used
creosoted materials'. An EU directive sought to protect the public from benzopyrene
found in creosote which, according to one German study, is now more harmful
than previously thought. Benzopyrene is a carcinogen found in coal tar derivatives
like creosote, as well as in cigarettes, and hamburgers cooked on charcoal-fired
barbecues. A commission press release stated ....'The
European Commission today adopted a new Directive banning the sale to consumers
of the wood preservative creosote, after an EU scientific committee concluded
from a recent study that creosote has a greater potential to cause cancer
than previously thought, and exceeds the limits permissible under existing
legislation. The ban, which takes effect from 30 June 2003 at the latest,
also applies to creosote-treated wood. Creosote may still be used for industrial
applications, e.g. railway sleepers and telegraph poles, but with tougher
restrictions on its composition.' Enterprise Europe, Brussels, 26 October
2001 IP/01/1500
This was somewhat sensationally yet inaccurately picked up in the Daily
Telegraph in February 2003: |
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DAILY
TELEGRAPH REPORTS....
'Toxic
sleepers hit the buffers'
They're useful, decorative and soon to be illegal....
By
Giles Chapman (Filed: 15/02/2003)
Old
railway sleepers, those sturdy slabs of timber with 1,000 horticultural
uses, have never been so plentiful to gardeners. Whether for building a
raised bed, boxing in a compost heap or creating rustic-looking paths, they're
unbeatable. And they're also great value: Sheila Johnson, manager of Central
Wool Growers, a farmers' co-operative in Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, sells
sleepers at £20.56 each. "We're asked for them constantly," she says. But
the days of the trusty sleeper are almost over. After June this year,
you will no longer be able to buy them. (untrue)
You'll probably groan when you hear the European Commission in Brussels
is to blame, but the reason seems earnest enough. An EU scientific committee
concluded from a recent study that creosote, in which all railway sleepers
are liberally lathered to stop them rotting, is more dangerous than previously
thought. Creosote is a chemical cocktail obtained by distilling coal tar
and is classified as carcinogenic because the mixture contains benzopyrene
(BaP). Scientists used to think that as long as there were no more than
50 parts of BaP per million in creosote, it was harmless. Now they've concluded
that even such a tiny amount can cause cancer in humans. So from June
30 the sale of creosote and creosote-treated wood will be banned. (untrue)
Clearly, creosote is finished. But what about sleepers? Sylvia Wiltshire
wishes she knew. She's been running the Nottingham Sleeper Company for 38
years. "I just can't get any answers," she says. "We don't really know what's
going to happen." Her office looks out on a seven-acre yard bursting with
old sleepers. At times, there are 30,000 in stock and she sells 2,000 a
week, mostly to garden centres. Mrs Wiltshire says there are several similar
suppliers in the UK. "We also uplift them and take them away," she adds,
hinting at the massive logistical nightmare for Network Rail if 150,000
old sleepers can't find a home. She also doubts old sleepers are harmful.
"Most of them are so weathered they've lost most of the treatment," she
says. "These things aren't waste: every sleeper can be re-used and recycled.
That has to be better than cutting down more rainforests."
Railway sleeper enthusiasts, if you can call them that, are also incensed
at the EU directive. Charles Kenyon, who lives near Lincoln, has bought
dozens and used them them for creating raised beds in his herb garden, for
making gateposts and building sheds. "They're excellent things," he says.
"In some cases they have matured over hundreds of years. "Ecologically,
re-using old sleepers is the best thing that can possibly be done with them,
despite a drop of creosote." End of the line Network Rail replaces one million
railway sleepers a year, although less than half are now wooden. They're
replaced by concrete and solid steel sleepers from the US. Most reclaimed
sleepers are pine, with one in 10 made from hardwoods such as oak and even
mahogany. After June 2003, Network Rail will store treated sleepers until
it works out what to do with them. One option is to chip and burn them as
fuel. This requires specially designed plants. Although these exist in Scandinavia
and Germany, as yet there are none in Britain.
© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003. Terms & Conditions
of reading. Commercial information. Privacy Policy. |
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This article added to the already
confused position of those who were buying and supplying railway sleepers.
Would they be banned ? Could they still be sold after June 30th 2003? We
wrote in February 2003:
"Showing a confusion and a distinct
lack of communication is the present situation concerning creosote treated
sleepers...Network Rail is supposedly not releasing
any used British sleepers that they take up from the track, after June 30th.
They will be stored somewhere and eventually disposed of, through whatever
means. June 30th is meant to be the actual ban day in this country, according
to the European parliament, for creosote treated sleepers. However there's
masses of uncertainty. What about untreated sleepers, like Jarra ? What about
salt treated sleepers ? What about imported graded creosote sleepers that
are designated for landscape or construction use? Lots of uncertainties...
and most people in the business scratch their heads with incredulity. Will
there be midnight raids of railway sleeper depots, or a shady blackmarket
deals with sleepers being exchanged on isolated waste grounds for cash in
brown envelopes. Will there be a sleeper mafia with turf wars on old railway
sidings ? Who knows !"
Things gradually became clearer. The directive,
which was published for consultation by the DTI (closing date 2 Feb 2003),
had an exemption for reclaimed railway sleepers and other creosote-laden wood
which said:
3.9 Wood treated with the substances listed in Directive 2001/90/EC.
'The prohibition . . . on placing on the market, does not apply where wood
so treated is placed on the second hand market for re-use. Uses for which
wood referred to . . . may not be used: - inside buildings, whatever their
purpose - in toys - in playgrounds - in parks, gardens, and outdoor recreational
leisure facilities where there is a risk of frequent skin contact - in the
manufacture of garden furniture such as picnic tables, - for the manufacture
and use and any re-treatment of containers intended for growing purposes,
packaging that may come into contact with raw materials, intermediate or finished
products destined for human and/or animal consumption - other materials which
may contaminate the products mentioned above.'
We wrote in May 03 :
"Sleepers WILL still be released for sale by Network Rail and also WILL
still be imported into this country after June 30th, so rumours of empty supermarket
shelves are false. Clearly creosote treated sleepers should now not be sold
to schools, play areas and public places, where there might be 'frequent skin
contact with creosote' but at the same time it is green light as usual for
professional and industrial uses, which include: agricultural, railway, forestry,
fencing, harbours and waterways and electric power transmission and telecommunications.
Governmental advice to Kilgraney recently acknowledged that private use of
sleepers in private gardens was still acceptable". |
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Some reclaimed timber dealers, have written 'creosote
clauses' on their invoices. Salvo suggests that the clause should
read as follows: 'EU law forbids the use of reclaimed wood treated with
creosote inside buildings, in toys, in playgrounds, in gardens where there
is a risk of frequent skin contact, or in garden furniture. Directive
2001/90/EC and 76/769/EEC (Creosote). Railway sleepers can still be used
for raised beds, provided a flower bed is placed in front of them, or
ivy grown on the sides, to prevent frequent skin contact. |
|
THE HORSES
MOUTH .. !
If you want to read the original DTI paper, visit www.dti.gov.uk/
ccp/consultpdf/
creosote.htm |
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Rumour
has it that a UK study shows that where creosote impregnated timbers are
in contact with the soil, an organism that thrives on benzopyrene neutralises
the creosote over time. If this is the case clearly reuse along traditional
lines is the best thing that could happen to an old railway sleeper |
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Kilgraney's present advice to it's customers:
Some of our sleepers were originally treated with Coal Tar Creosote.
This has been used for over 150 years to preserve and increase the life-span
of timber. Recent findings have indicated that creosote can be harmful in
certain situations. So, in order to be careful:
Handle with gloves. Wear a dust mask when sawing or machining.
Dispose of off-cuts, sawdust etc.. safely. Waste wood may be disposed
of by burning, subject to any local rules on burning in the open, or via your
local waste disposal facility.
Creosote timber should not be used where there is risk of frequent
(i.e. often-occurring or constant) skin contact, nor where it may come
into contact with or contaminate animal or human foodstuffs. In particular
it should not be used inside buildings, in playgrounds,
or for garden furniture and picnic tables.
On a final note... Spot the tar competition
. . 
Sleeper 1 - Dutch oak - Originally creosote
.............Sleeper 2 - British pine - Originally creosote
treated - you can
treated - yet nothing is seen on the surface or
...... see the tar and creosote on
the surface that leaks
leaks out in the summer. So what's the problem? ...out
in the summer. We agree, big problem in
Great for general landscaping, so why restrict .....
..landscaping where children, clothes, pets and
their useage? Why tar all sleepers with the............vegetables
are concerned. Great under sheds
same brush ?.............................................................
.. though ! |
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2) 'PRESSURE
TREATED' / ACQ TREATED
/ TANALITH 'E' or TANNALISED
This is a wood preservative treatment that protects against decay and fungal
and insect attack.
~ The timber is treated using pressure impregnation with a water based timber
preservative, complying with BS 4072.
~ Treated timber has a green or light brown colour. The customer can sometimes
chose which finish they wish.
~ When impregnated into the timber the chemical components become fixed within
the wood structure and are leach resistant.
~ Usually specified for general construction and outdoor timbers
~ ACQ is so far the most environmentally friendly form of pressure
treatment which has now replaced CCA treatment:
~ a new generation water-based wood preservative applied
by vacuum and pressure.
~ Does not contain arsenic or chromium. ACQ (alkaline copper quaternary) contains
a mixture of copper and "quat" -- a commonly used disinfectant.
~ The ingredients in ACQ have very low potential for human toxicity.
~ Provides protection from rot, decay and termite attack
~ For use in above ground, ground contact and fresh water immersion applications
~ Can be used in residential, commercial and industrial applications
~ Easily painted or stained
Softwood Sleeper - English or Scottish pine - Pressure treated (green
)
None of the treatment comes out in the summer. Particularly suitable for schools,
play areas, children, animals, growing food and indoors.
How long does it last?
Believe it or not,
the treatment companies (and hence us!) offer NO
GUARANTEE
at all as to the treatment and the longetivity of the timber. They
argue that the way timber is used and constructed is in so many different
applications and settings (above ground, under ground, in water etc...) not
to mention timber naturally splitting and moving, and being cut, drilled into
etc.. that they cannot guarantee or predict how long the
timber will last and how long the treatment will be effective.
Sitting on the fence
In reality, like many companies, they are frightened about
people making claims against them, and so chose to offer
no guarantee, rather than risk someone wanting the whole of their fencing
to be replaced after 10 years, if it starts to rot.
Conclusion
Although we all know that pressure treated timber will last
considerably longer than 2 days (!) we are unable to say or guarantee how
long it will last. Sorry.It's all very unsatisfactory, but it's the way of
the world !
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3) UNTREATED
Untreated outside softwood will soon rot and collapse
Untreated denser hardwoods are different. Azobe is used
untreated by British waterways under water, due to its natural preservative
qualities. Jarra, Karri, Mora, Greenheart is likewise placed untreated on
the track by Network Rail. Untreated timber is popular with those wary of
chemical treatments, or contamination
Sleeper 3 - African Azobe - An example of untreated hardwood.
Particularly suitable for schools, play areas, animals,growing food and indoors |
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4)
SALT-TREATED
Softwood timber treated with salt. A much rarer and older style treatment
that often originates from Russia. Free of any tar or creosote impregnation.
Often used by organic gardeners. No examples in our woodyard at present. Out
of stock of 'round-fronted pine' and 'Russian Bulkheads. Rumour has it that
it it deters slugs (although this is at present hearsay, rather than empirical
evidence!)
Sleeper 4- Russian Bulkhead - Salt-treated |
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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
courtesy of the
Department of Trade and Industry
Q1. Creosote is a well tried and tested popular
brand; I have been using it for years to paint my garden fence and furniture,
why has it suddenly become a case for concern?
Recent studies by the Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicity and Aerosol Research
(Hanover, Germany) found that creosote had a greater potential to cause
cancer than had been previously thought. The study was referred to the
European Scientific Committee on Toxicity, Ecotoxicity and the Environment
(CSTEE), an advisory body to the European Commission, who concluded that
there is a cancer risk to consumers from creosote. The Committee considered
that the magnitude of this risk gave clear reasons for concern. In the
light of those concerns, Directive 2001/90/EC was adopted by the European
Council on 26 October 2001 and must be implemented by all Member States.
The legislation came into force in the UK on 30 June 2003.
Q2. Are there alternatives that I could use?
The main use of creosote is as a wood preservative. There is a range of
other products on the market with varying colour, which can perform a
similar function.
Q3. I am a member of the “y” railway restoration
association, which makes use of railway sleepers, is it now the case that
we will no longer be able to use creosote- treated railway sleepers?
No, it is not the case that you will not be able to use creosote-treated
railway sleepers. Old railway sleepers treated with creosote prior to
the 30 June 2003 can still be used for railway restoration purposes. They
can also be placed on the market for second-hand re-use, but only for
the purposes outlined in the Regulations. You will also be able to buy
new railway sleepers for use on a railway. After the 30 June 2003, creosote
can be sold and used in industrial installations and by professionals
providing that the creosote complies with the new compositional requirements
and the restrictions on the uses of wood so treated. Examples of permitted
use include telegraph poles, railway sleepers, fencing and certain agricultural
purposes.
Q4. After 30 June 2003 will I be able to purchase
and use old railway sleepers?
Yes. But only for the purposes outlined in the regulations. Old railway
sleepers treated with creosote can be used in parks, gardens, and outdoor
recreational and leisure facilities but only if there is no risk of frequent
skin contact. However, old railway sleepers treated with creosote must
not be used inside buildings, whatever their purposes; in toys; in playgrounds
and for garden furniture such as picnic tables.
Q5. My raised garden bed consists of creosote-treated
railway sleepers. Should I be digging these up?
No. Wood treated with creosote prior to the coming into force date of
the Creosote Directive, may be used in gardens, providing there is no
risk of frequent skin contact. Furthermore, the prohibition on the use
of treated wood does not apply where the treated wood was in such use
before 30 June 2003, the date these Regulations came into force.
Q6. What is meant by frequent skin contact?
Frequent could be defined as “happening or occurring often or at short
intervals”. In the context of the creosote directive, frequent skin contact
could be considered as repeated (habitual) contact of the skin with, for
example, creosote-treated railway sleepers. Habitual practices such as
constant sitting, leaning against, laying on, walking on creosote-treated
wood could be considered as frequent skin contact if there is no barrier
between the skin and the treated wood. A person constantly handling creosote
treated wood, especially without gloves, as part of their job (daily routine)
could be said to be making frequent skin contact with creosote.
Q7. What shall I do with the couple of tins or so
of creosote I have stashed away in my garden shed? Can I pour them down
the drain?
No, you must not pour creosote down the drain. Contact your local authority
and/or the Environmental Agency on how to dispose chemicals of concern.
Many local authorities waste disposal sites have special arrangements
for disposing chemicals. |
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YOUR COMMON QUESTIONS
and maybe a few answers !
Q1. We have got railway sleepers that we want to make
into decking however they are covered in years of railway muck - is there
a product we can use to clean this mixture of oil and muck off? Do you sell
it etc?
Cleaning up sleepers depends on what's on them. If 'railway muck' is merely
airbourne grime and dust, then scrubbing with soapy water & detergent
/ or wirebrushing / or power jetwashing should nicely do the job. If it's
some surface diesel / oil that has dripped down from an engine, then detergent
or an oil 'dissolver' will deal with it. If you're talking about internal
tar and creosote from the original treatment of the timber, then there's virtually
nothing you can do, especially if it's continuing to ooze from within. Hot
weather tends to draw the creosote and tar to the surface, where it fluctuates
between being hard or sticky in various temperatures. Not nice or recommended
for decking, especially British pine railway sleepers.
Q2. I have had my garden landscaped and used old railway sleepers around the
perimeter and for seating. Whenever it is warm and sunny some of the sleepers
ooze tar. My young children keep getting covered in the oily mess much to
the disdain of my wife. I have tried a high pressure jet hose on the sleepers
but this has had no effect. Can you help?
Unfortunately your story is all too familiar. There are only three effective
options, I'm afraid.
1) If the oozy tar is unacceptable, (very understandable), remove the sleepers.
There's nothing effective you can do to stop them leaking.
2) Replace them with non-creosote treated sleepers, whether new or used. Landscapers
should not really be using the old GB pine sleepers, due to their unpleasant
leaking. The best used sleeper would be the African Azobe, that is an untreated
(and needs no treatment) tropical hardwood, that is very dense, and is sometimes
used underwater, or for lock gates etc.. Alternatively new pressure treated
Baltic / Scottish pine (treated with an environmentally child friendly treatment)
or new untreated French oak. We can help you chose if you need.
3) Clad the existing sleepers with some kind of timber, or material that covers
up the tar
Q3. I currently have about 15 sleepers (Used British
Pine) for a long row of 5 steps leading from the patio onto the grass. Trouble
is, I keep getting tar weeping from some of them, and over the past couple
of weeks it just got worse and worse. I was wondering if you knew of anything
I could use to stop the tar from weeping; I would like to keep the ‘’used’
look, but would personally be happy for a quick fix which I could do until
I re-arrange the garden and order something without tar or creosote.2
See above. This type of question is the one we receive most. (several times
a week).
Q4. Our local garden centre staff told me they didn't
supply used sleepers anymore as they were not allowed to due to the oil thats
soaked in to them.
Tell them to get their facts right ! |
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I
SUCK CREOSOTE - 20 times a day! .....WORLD
EXCLUSIVE !!
Blocked up by a slight cold last year, as summer slipped into damp autumn,
and Nottingham Forest's early sparkling form duly subsided into mediocrity,
I invested in some Potter's traditional pastilles (£1.85p) 'The
traditional remedy for the relief of Catarrh, Coughs and Colds' (and ailing
football teams).
Clearly unpeturbed by the mighty European Parliament and Dept. Trade &
Industry's rulings that creosoted materials should not be touched, placed
indoors, or allowed to contaminate foodstuffs, this invigorating and brave
lozenge declares in it's ingredients, that 0.2% is Creosote BPC. Mind
you, as a note of caution, and perhaps nod to the powers that be, it does
recommend that no more than 20 should be taken in 24 hrs !
A CUSTOMER RESPONDS. . .
"On one of your otherwise very helpful webpages
you refer to creosote BPC in cough pastilles. This is very very unlikely to
be the creosote made from coal tar that goes on sleepers and other wood products
It is very very likely to be creosote extract from the creosote bush which
is a very different and natural product with a long history of medicinal use
particularly for inhalation.
Confusing the two is unhelpful."
Martin Wright
Scientific Officer, Environmental Protection
KILGRANEY REPLIES. . .
Dear Martin
Of course you're right! Although the item is somewhat tongue in cheek, it
is maybe confusing or unhelpful to those who are seriously considering the
issue of creosote treatment in railway sleepers. Creosote BPC is an antiseptic
and analgesic from the creosote bush, rather than the creosote product of
the petro chemical industry.
Creosote BPC (often referred to as chaparral when used as an herbal remedy)
is used as a herbal supplement and was used by Native Americans in the Southwest
as a treatment for many maladies, including sexually transmitted diseases,
tuberculosis, chicken pox, dysmenorrhea, and snakebite. The shrub is still
widely used as a medicine in Mexico. It has been used as a disinfectant, a
laxative, and a cough treatment
Interestingly enough, the Food and Drug Administration of the United States
has issued warnings about the health hazards of ingesting creosote bush or
using it as an internal medicine and discourages its use. In 2005, Health
Canada issued a warning to consumers to avoid using the leaves of Larrea species
because of the risk of damage to the liver and kidneys.
The other form of creosote is coal tar creosote. Coal tar creosote is the
most widely used wood preservative in the world. It is a thick, oily liquid
typically amber to black in colour. The American Wood Preservers' association
states that creosote "shall be a distillate derived entirely from tars
produced from the carbonization of bituminous coal." Coal tar used for
certain applications may be a mixture of coal tar distillate and coal tar.
The prevailing use of creosote in the United States is to preserve wooden
utilities/telephone poles, railroad cross ties, switch ties and bridge timbers
from decay. Due to its carcinogenic character, the European Union has banned
the sale of creosote treated wood in many settings.
Coal tar products are also used in medicines to treat diseases such as psoriasis,
and as animal and bird repellents, insecticides, animal dips, and fungicides.
Some over the counter anti-dandruff shampoos contain coal tar solutions.
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WHAT
A WASTE OF TIME THESE EEC DIRECTIVES ARE !!!
Well some info for your site
Our local parish council decided to install OLD sleepers along the length of
the village green to stop cars driving on it. I advised that this is a public
place, where children play, and old ones should not be used. They ignored
this advice and installed them anyway.
I decided to try this breach, It turns out to be impossible.
I phoned local environmental health. They were not interested
and told me to phone trading standards.
I phoned them, they were not interested and told me to phone
health and safety.
They were not interested (not a workplace) and told me to phone
the local environment agency
They were not interested and told me to phone my local council,
which is where I started.
It would appear that there is NO body out there who can enforce this ruling,
so therefore the ruling doesn’t exist.
What a waste of time these eec directives are!
Colin Willow |
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railway
sleepers treatments railway sleepers treatments railway sleepers treatments
railway sle |
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