Commodity risk assessment of debarked conifer wood chips fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride from the US

The European Commission requested the EFSA Panel on Plant Health to deliver a risk assessment on the likelihood of pest freedom from regulated EU quarantine pests, with emphasis on Bursaphelenchus xylophilus and its vectors Monochamus spp. of debarked conifer wood chips fumigated with sulfuryl fluoride as proposed by the United States (US) and as outlined in ISPM 28 - PT23 of sulfuryl fluoride (SF) fumigation treatment for nematodes and insects in debarked wood. The assessment considered the different phases in the wood chips' production, with special emphasis on the SF treatment. In addition to B. xylophilus and its vectors Monochamus spp., 22 EU quarantine pests and protected zone quarantine pests, some of which are regulated as groups of pests by the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072, are present in the US and are potentially associated with the commodity. For these pests an expert judgement is given on the likelihood of pest freedom taking into consideration the available scientific information and technical information provided by the US, including uncertainties associated with the assessment. The likelihood of pest freedom varies among the pests evaluated, with B. xylophilus being the pest most frequently expected on the commodity. The Expert Knowledge Elicitation (EKE) indicated with 95% certainty that between 9491 and 10,000 m3 of debarked conifer wood chips treated with SF per 10,000 m3 will be free from B. xylophilus, and that between 9987 and 10,000 m3 of wood chips per 10,000 m3 will be free from Monochamus spp. Technical elements which are critical for a successful treatment and for minimising the presence of Union quarantine pests on the commodity are identified and described in the opinion. In particular, it is important to note that SF treatments are generally less effective in eliminating fungi than insects, the required parameters of the fumigation should be met at all points of the pile of wood chips and the time of storage of wood chips before treatment should be kept as short as possible because B. xylophilus can easily reproduce and spread throughout the pile under conducive conditions.