Galifornia sets limits on formaldehyde emissions

lf-TALIFORN IA'S Air Resources \-,Board (ARB), a division of the California EPA, is working to enact new regulations to reduce formaldehyde emissions from wood panels and products made from wood panels used in the state.

The new regulations will establish the most stringent formaldehyde emissions limits on wood products in the U.S. The Federal Emergency Management Agency also issued a recent statement on formaldehyde levels in travel trailers. Both Dronouncements indicate regulators' growing concern over formaldehyde in the home, office and leisure settings. Here's what you should know about new formaldehyde regulations.

CARB enacted the new limits on formaldehyde emissions in late April 2007. The new emissions limits are scheduled to be phased in starting 2009 and fully implemented in 2012. The new regulation may be found in the California Code of Regulations (CCR) in sections 93120-93120.12 (http://www.arb.ca.gov/re gactl2007 I co mpwood07/appa.pdfl.

Products targeted by the measure include particleboard, medium density fiberboard, and hardwood plywoodproducts typically made with urea formaldehyde adhesives. It will also affect manufacturers of furniture, cabinets and other consumer products that use those composite wood panels.

Because structural wood products certified by APA under U.S. Product Standard PS I and PS 2 are manufactured with moisture-resistant adhesives that emit formaldehyde at very low levels, well below the ARB limits, the wood panels are exempt from the CARB regulations.

The measure requires that wood panels and products manufactured from wood panels be certified by a "third-party" laboratory approved by the ARB as meeting California's emissions requirements. Panel manufacturers, importers, distributors, fabricators and installers can all be held responsible for assuring that their products comply. Distributors must take "reasonably prudent precautions," meaning that they will be required to seek and maintain compliance records from manufacturers.

Other products, including hardboard, structural composite lumber, glued laminated timber, prefabricated wood I-joists, and composite wood products used inside of vehicles are exempt from the new regulations. However, as mentioned earlier, FEMA continues to study formaldehyde emissions of products used in the travel trailer industry.

In the meantime, the agency has applied the standards issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. A 1985 HUD regulation covering the use of pressed wood products in manufactured housing was designed to ensure that indoor levels are below 0.4 ppm. Products certified under PS I and PS 2 are exempt from

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