by Web Editor | Nov 12, 2018 | News
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed technical amendments to its formaldehyde emissions standards for composite wood products.
Published last week in the Federal Register, the proposed changes primarily address concerns over testing and certification provisions of the rule published in December 2016, which require suppliers, importers, and manufacturers of hardwood plywood, MDF, and particleboard to limit the products’ formaldehyde emissions.
The EPA proposed removing the requirement for annual correlations between third-party certifiers and other mill quality testing procedures. The changes also clarify labeling requirements.
The changes are meant to streamline compliance and align more closely with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Toxic Control Measures (ATCM) Phase II.
Public comments from a June meeting influenced the proposed rule. The meeting was held to address technical issues, like correlation and equivalence of testing methods, how test data is treated, and handling sampling requirements. Public comments on the latest proposed changes will be accepted until December 3.
Read more on this from Woodworking Network at https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/news/woodworking-industry-news/epa-updates-clarifies-formaldehyde-emission-standards-composite-wood?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news.
by Web Editor | Nov 1, 2017 | News
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a direct final rule October 25 to update a few voluntary consensus standards in the rule governing formaldehyde emission standards for composite wood products.
The direct final rule corrects the rule at 40 CFR 770.20(b) by allowing the formaldehyde emissions mill quality control test methods to correlate to either the ASTM E1333-14 test method, or if shown to be equivalent, the ASTM D6007-14 test method. This correlation was inadvertently omitted from the original final rule, EPA wrote.
The correction aligns the mill quality control testing requirements with the California Air Resources Board standards allowing mill quality control tests to be correlated to the less expensive ASTM D6007-14 test method.
These updates apply to emission testing methods and regulated composite wood product construction characteristics. The voluntary consensus standards were updated, withdrawn or superseded to because of new information, technology, and methodology, EPA wrote.
EPA’s final rule takes effect December 11, unless EPA receives adverse comments on it by November 9.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/panel-supply/epa-publishes-final-rule-fixes-place-formaldehyde-standards?ss=news,news,woodworking_industry_news,news,almanac_market_data,news,canadian_news
by Web Editor | Feb 24, 2016 | News
Appalachian Hardwood Manufacturers, Inc. (AHMI), promoting the advantages of formaldehyde-free real, solid wood to public, are contrasting its natural qualities with the unsafe laminate flooring that had gotten Lumber Liquidators into trouble with consumers.
“Discount flooring companies selling imported laminate floors have been providing customers with products that can carry seven to twenty times the base amount of carcinogenic formaldehyde allowed by the EPA,” says the AHMI. “At these levels, formaldehyde secretes from the flooring and into the home’s air, becoming a high-level health risk, especially for children and pets who are most susceptible to its effects. Carcinogenic formaldehyde found in artificial wood has been linked to lung and nasal cancer, nausea, asthma, and other severe respiratory issues.”
Wood industry trade groups, including furniture and cabinetry makers, have been trying to separate their goods from the products made in China that contained high levels of formaldehyde. The Kitchen Cabinet Makers Association issued a statement last week saying that there is no risk of exposure to formaldehyde in cabinets that receive its Environmental Stewardship Program seal, because its program requires that engineered wood used in it must be CARB Compliant.
Other groups have questioned the validity of testing methods used to detect formaldehyde in wood products – such as flooring sold by online retailer Wayfair – tests that deconstruct the multi-layered sandwich that makes up laminate flooring. The Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association estimates that “finishes of paint, lacquer, sealants, laminate, plastic or other material” reduce formaldehyde emissions of the underlying raw board by 90 percent.
From Woodworking Network: https://www.woodworkingnetwork.com/wood/pricing-supply/appalachian-hardwood-manufacturers-tout-formaldehyde-free-real-solid-wood
