All composite wood products, including engineered and laminate flooring, sold, supplied, offered for sale, manufactured or imported in the United States will need to meet formaldehyde emissions standards under the rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 27.
All composite wood products, including engineered and laminate flooring, sold, supplied, offered for sale, manufactured or imported in the United States will need to meet formaldehyde emissions standards under the rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on July 27.
The EPA has been working on this rule since the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products Act was signed on 2 July 7, 2010. The final rule, available in prepublication form online, requires compliance with the following formaldehyde emissions standards: hardwood plywood (including engineered wood flooring), 0.05 ppm; particleboard, 0.09 ppm; MDF, 0.11 ppm; and thin MDF, 0.13 ppm. Composite wood products within the standards will receive a TSCA Title VI compliant label as proof.
The requirements are consistent with California Air Resources Board’s Air Toxic Control Measure to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products, commonly referred to as CARB Phase II, according to the rule language.
“We are carrying out important measures laid out by Congress to protect the public from harmful exposure of this widely used chemical found in homes and workplaces,” said Jim Jones, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention, in a statement. “We have worked with the state of California as a partner to help ensure consistency in our requirements.”
Jones added that the finalized rule will “level the playing field” for domestic manufacturers already complying with the California standard, as well as ensure the safety of imported products not subject to California’s standard.
The rule sets testing requirements for third-party certifiers and establishes third-party certifier accreditation requirements.
The rule takes effect one year after it is published in the Federal Register, which is expected to happen within the next 10 days.
"It is good to see consistency in the regulations implemented to ensure the products within the wood flooring industry meet a minimum formaldehyde emissions standard," said Brett Miller, National Wood Flooring Association vice president of education and certification. "This will not affect the quality-driven flooring manufacturers within our industry, but it is good to see regulations being put in place to level the playing field."