Product News
October 19th, 2007
California Air Resources Board Update - What Your Company Needs to Know
The California Air Resources Board recently adopted a
regulation designed to limit formaldehyde emissions from
composite wood products. We have received many questions
about what this means for the wood products industry, so to
help you better understand this regulation here’s a
rundown of the most frequently asked questions:
Q: What is the new California formaldehyde
regulation?
In April 2007, the California Air Resources Board, a
department of the California Environmental Protection Agency,
voted to implement new limits for formaldehyde emitted from
composite wood products. These new limits will be implemented
in two phases starting January 1, 2009. When the final limits
are fully in place in 2012, the regulation will establish the
toughest standards in the world for formaldehyde emissions from
composite wood products.
The California regulation governs the formaldehyde in
both raw composite wood panels and finished products sold or
used in California. Both imported and domestic products are
regulated and must be third–party certified and clearly
labeled to indicate they meet California’s
requirements.
Q: What composite wood products are covered by
the new regulation?
The regulation applies to hardwood plywood,
particleboard, and medium density fiberboard (MDF), along with
all products made with these components, such as furniture,
cabinets, flooring, store fixtures, moldings and millwork,
countertops, decorative household items, doors, etc.
These panels are popular materials for consumer products
because of their design flexibility, structural properties,
cost benefits and inherent environmental features.
Q: Do the new standards apply only to products
sold in California?
The California regulation applies only to products
offered for sale or use in California.
Q: Why is California regulating formaldehyde
emissions from composite wood products?
CARB’s mission is to ensure the best possible air
quality for the citizens of California. To achieve that
mission, CARB continuously monitors sources of air pollution in
the state and acts to reduce exposure to air pollutants
whenever possible. The state identified formaldehyde as a
potential air pollutant and established formaldehyde emission
limits for composite wood products at extremely low levels.
Q: Why is formaldehyde used in composite wood
products?
Formaldehyde’s prevalence and reactive nature make
it an ideal ingredient in adhesives, as it cross–links
with other ingredients to form a strong, cost–effective
bond. For decades, formaldehyde has been used to produce most
of the adhesives used in composite wood products and is used in
thousands of other products as well.
It is important to note that our bodies depend on
formaldehyde to survive, as it is an important link in the
metabolic process. In fact, the human body produces an
ounce and a half of formaldehyde every day.
Q: Will this new regulation reduce the health
risk from formaldehyde exposure?
Like many substances, formaldehyde could have negative
health effects on humans at extremely high concentrations. The
claim that formaldehyde causes cancer in humans, however, is
based on laboratory experiments conducted in the 1980’s
that placed rats in exposure situations no human being could
ever tolerate. These tests also used out-dated
computerized risk models that do not take into account new
scientific evidence. As in most risk assessments, the estimated
danger is a matter of the duration and intensity of the
exposure—just as a thimbleful of water poses little risk
to anybody, but one can easily drown in an ocean. For
formaldehyde and most other chemical compounds, the risk is in
the dose and not in the actual chemical.
When reviewing the research for its decision, CARB chose
to rely on its 1992 risk evaluation that used extremely
conservative assumptions that theorized an increased cancer
risk from formaldehyde exposure. New risk assessment
information used by the U. S. EPA, Health Canada, and other
international organizations shows that there is virtually no
risk of cancer from formaldehyde at the levels most people are
exposed to over their lifetime, and certainly not at the levels
emitted by composite panels and other wood products. Despite
this evidence, CARB chose not to evaluate this new
information.
Q: What about the safety of the panel products
I’m using now?
Hardwood plywood and composite wood products have been
used safely for more than 50 years. Most composite wood
products emit formaldehyde well below the threshold detectable
by humans. Further, when encapsulated with a decorative surface
treatment or other finish, consumer products made with
composite wood products typically emit at around the
“background” formaldehyde level (around 0.03 ppm)
naturally found in both indoor and outdoor air.
To put formaldehyde exposure from composite wood products
in perspective, CARB’s own data show that the
formaldehyde emitted by composite wood products accounts for
less than five percent of all the formaldehyde emitted into
California air, and the World Health Organization and Health
Canada have estimated that the average adult ingests nine times
more formaldehyde each day from food than they inhale from all
airborne sources combined.
Q: How does this new California standard compare
to other composite wood products formaldehyde emission
standards in the U. S. and around the world?
When fully implemented, the California regulation will be
the world’s toughest production standard for formaldehyde
emissions from composite wood products (see charts below).
However, California’s approach to certification and
enforcement is far more rigorous than other worldwide
standards. For example, the emission limits in the California
regulation are maximum limits that 100 percent of the products
must fall below, whereas compliance to other worldwide
standards are voluntary and allow a certain percentage of the
covered products to exceed the limits. Also, the California
standard requires third–party certification of the
composite wood panels to verify compliance, and CARB plans to
enforce the standard through random product testing and a
strict chain–of–custody requirement.
|
Comparison of Worldwide Formaldehyde Standards
for Composites
|
|||||
|
Standard
|
European E1
|
Japanese F***
|
Japanese F****
|
CPA EPP
|
ANSI
|
|
Maximum Emission Level
(ppm)
|
0.13
|
0.09
|
0.05
|
0.20
|
.030
|
*Note that various test methods are used to verify
compliance to these standards and the ppm values may not
directly correlate with each other.
Q: How will the North American composite panel industry ensure that products will meet the new California standard?
The North American hardwood plywood and composite panel
industry has always been a world leader in the development of
high quality, high value, environmentally friendly products.
Through advances in adhesive technology, composite wood
manufacturers have voluntarily reduced the formaldehyde
emissions from their products by almost 90 percent over the
last 30 years.
This leadership will continue as the industry develops
products to meet the California standard. Many panel
manufacturers voluntarily developed low–emitting products
long before CARB took up the issue, so there are already a wide
variety of products available with reduced formaldehyde
levels.
The industry is already working with adhesive
manufacturers to develop additional high quality, cost
effective alternate technologies to meet even the most
stringent limits in the California regulation when they become
effective.
Q: What will I have to do to comply with the California regulation?
As a distributor, value–added manufacturer, or
retailer that uses and/or sells composite wood products you
will have to follow prescribed recordkeeping and labeling
requirements, including being able to demonstrate that you are
purchasing compliant panels certified by a CARB–approved
third party. CARB is still working on the details of the
chain–of–custody enforcement requirements, and the
composite panel industry is working cooperatively with the
agency to develop effective enforcement procedures, especially
for offshore imports. Once it is clear what the requirements
are, your hardwood plywood and composite panel supplier will
work with you to make sure you receive
California–compliant boards and have the appropriate
procedures and documentation in place when the rule goes into
effect in 2009.
Q: Will these new California–compliant
products cost me more money?
It should come as no surprise that regulations like this,
that mandate product refinements, often come with additional
cost to the consumer. The California formaldehyde regulation is
no exception. While the industry fully supports producing the
best products possible, the development and installation of the
technologies necessary to produce those products and the
ongoing burden of testing and compliance are very
expensive.
Some companies are or will be in a position to control
costs better than others based on their ability to use or
develop new technologies.
Q. What does Timber Products offer that meets the
CARB requirements?
When it comes to formaldehyde emissions, our new
GreenT™ line meets or exceeds all federal and state
requirements, including CARB. GreenT™
Hardwood Plywood is available with an MDF, veneer or
particleboard core. The GreenT™ line also includes a
panel with a hardwood face and decorative overlay back, a
two-sided decorative overlay panel, raw particleboard panels
and particleboard door core panels.
Q: Where can I go to find out more about the new regulation?
For detailed information about the California
formaldehyde regulation, visit CARB’s website
at:http://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/compwood07/compwood07.htm.
