Manufacturer’s Declaration EGGER Group, November 2019
EGGER is well-prepared for the new German Regulation on formaldehyde emissions from woodbased materials
Dear Business Partner,
As of 01.01.2020, the German market will be subject to a revision of the testing procedures for formaldehyde emissions from wood-based materials in order to comply with the Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance (ChemVerbotsVO). (Information from the Federal Environment Agency)
What are the effects of this new regulation?
In this new regulation, the existing limit value of 0.1 ppm formaldehyde in a test chamber remains unchanged. However, a new reference method EN 16516 has been defined. As an alternative method, the test chamber method EN 717-1 is still permitted, but its result must be multiplied by 2.
Testing with a perforator, gas analysis, or other methods is only permitted for internal control and must be correlated with one of the previously specified test methods.
This change in the reference method effectively means the existing limit value is halved in Germany.
Excerpt from the Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance:
(1) Coated and uncoated wood-based materials (chipboard, blockboard, veneer board, and fibreboard) shall not be placed on the market if the equalisation concentration of formaldehyde in the air of a test room caused by the wood-based material exceeds 0.1 ml/cbm (ppm).
(2) Furniture containing wood-based materials which do not meet the requirements of paragraph 1 shall not be placed on the market. However, the requirements of paragraph 1 shall also be considered as fulfilled if the furniture complies with the equalisation concentration specified in paragraph 1 during a whole-body test.
Paragraph 1 shall not apply to boards placed on the market solely for the purpose of suitable coating, provided that it is ensured that after the coating they comply with the equalisation concentration referred to in paragraph 1.
