New Formaldehyde Emission Standards Are Improving Furniture And Building Products

California is leading the way with new regulations and standards related to the release

of formaldehyde vapors from furniture and from building products that are used indoors. This activity has benefits for consumers and for architects seeking to obtain indoor environment credits under the US Green Building Council LEED certification system. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) airborne toxic control measure (ATCM) to reduce formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products sold within the state became effective in January 2009. The regulation encompasses hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium density fiberboard, and also furniture and other finished products made with these composite wood products. The regulation is being enforced in two phases and transition to the more stringent Phase 2 formaldehyde emission standards is almost complete. CARB authorizes third party certifiers to implement the regulation. A certifier audits a wood product mill on a regular basis and the mill employs a qualified environmental testing laboratory to conduct chamber tests to measure formaldehyde emissions from its products. Compliant panel products are given chain-of-custody documentation and must display a label showing conformance to the law. Although the CARB ATCM law only applies in California, the effect has rippled throughout the global marketplace. Many composite wood products and the finished goods made from these products are imported into the US. Since it is difficult to control the flow of products within the country, all domestic and many foreign manufacturers have been forced to comply.

Consumers should see the on-product or packaging labels showing industry compliance when they shop for furniture and building products, such as manufactured wood flooring, cabinetry, doors and molding made with composite wood. These products will have lower formaldehyde emissions than the typical products sold prior to the regulation. Consumers benefit because this may translate into measurably lower formaldehyde concentrations in indoor air.

Architects seeking LEED certification for their building projects will now have an easier time acquiring low emitting product credits as the result of the CARB ATCM law. LEED has long had a credit for projects that specify composite wood products used on the interior of the building that do not contain added urea-formaldehyde resins, often termed no added formaldehyde (NAF). The ATCM offers an incentive to composite wood mills to use alternative NAF resin systems. Once a manufacturer obtains approval for its system and has demonstrated through testing that its products have very low formaldehyde emissions consistent with a NAF system, it no longer has to participate in the third-party certification system or send its products to an environmental testing laboratory for conformity testing. A number of mills have taken up this approach, and as a result, many more NAF products are available in the marketplace.

by: Berkeley Analytical

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