by Web Editor | Aug 1, 2016 | News
The Environmental Protection Agency rolled out a formaldehyde emission standard, working with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in setting the rules that are mandated by Congress.
The EPA moved to reduce exposure to formaldehyde vapors from laminate panel and engineered wood products produced domestically or imported into the United States. The agency worked with the California Air Resources Board to make its final national rule consistent with California requirements for composite wood products.
One year after the rule is published, composite wood products that are sold, supplied, offered for sale, manufactured, or imported in the United States will need to be labeled as TSCA Title VI compliant. These products include: hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard, particleboard as well as household and other finished goods containing these products.
The action was triggered in large part by discovering that Lumber Liquidators’ flooring supply from China has been labeled CARB compliant though it was not. Lumber Liquidators has since settled with CARB and the Consumer Products Safety Commission over its liability for the matter. The new rule requires other sellers of laminate panel to meet the CARB standards for formaldehyde exposure.
EPA says the new rule will level the playing field for domestic laminate flooring manufacturers who have a high rate of compliance with the California standard and will ensure that imported products not subject to California’s requirements will meet the new standard and thus, not contain dangerous formaldehyde vapors.”
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/epa-issues-final-formaldehyde-exposure-rule-guided-carb
by Web Editor | Mar 28, 2016 | News
Hardwood flooring retailer Lumber Liquidators Inc. has paid the California Air Resources Board (CARB) $2.5 million to settle claims that the company sold composite wood products that exceeded California formaldehyde limits, and failed to take reasonable precautions to ensure those products met such limits.
Additionally, Lumber Liquidators has developed and agreed to implement, a “Fabricator Laminate Evaluation and Audit Program” and a “Composite Core Testing Research Program,” requiring the company to conduct regular audits of existing and new suppliers and to randomly test composite core samples in accordance with CARB’s standard operating procedure for preparing finished goods for testing.
This is CARB’s first documented enforcement action on this regulation, and it may be a sign that CARB will begin to ensure compliance more aggressively.
“The California Air Resources Board adopted the ATCM to protect the public from toxic exposures to formaldehyde from composite wood products, and we are enforcing this regulation,” CARB Enforcement Division Chief Todd Sax said. “Companies need to understand we expect compliance with our rules, and we will hold those accountable who do not comply.”
Lumber Liquidators pleaded guilty to both felony and misdemeanor charges back in October 2015. The company paid more than $13 million in fines and restitution earlier this year.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/lumber-liquidators-pays-25-million-settle-california-clean-air-claims?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news
by Web Editor | Nov 2, 2015 | News
From: Panel World Staff
Jackson Morrill, president of Composite Panel Association, updated the executive committee’s recommendations on “policy positions” with regard to energy/biomass issues that impact wood fiber supply during the September Fall Meeting in Banff, Alberta.
CPA opposes government policies that distort the market for woody biomass raw material, Morrill noted, adding that market forces should determine all uses of wood and wood residuals for renewable energy; policies that have the direct effect of diverting biomass supply to subsidized energy should be avoided; and governments that choose to initiate policies intended to increase demand for biomass energy production should couple them with policies that increase the available long-term supply of wood to meet future demand of composite wood panels as well as new and growing markets for energy and other uses.
Morrill said CPA will stay silent on the carbon neutrality of wood-to-energy, noting however that forest derived biomass should be treated as carbon neutral where there is a sustainable growing forest; within carbon accounting frameworks, the composite panel industry’s use of wood residuals to make long-lived products should be treated as a higher value use than energy recovery; the composite panel industry’s use of wood residuals is an important alternate use that should be considered when determining the scope of “qualified biomass” under the U.S. EPA Clean Power Plan.
Morrill said CPA will advocate that composite wood products be recognized for their carbon sequestration benefits; that public policies should recognize that sustainably managed forests and forest products sequester and store carbon and reduce CO2; the use of biomass in creating long-lived products that serve as carbon sinks should be formally recognized in any carbon calculations that might be referenced in a future carbon economy.
