CA rejects even tighter formaldehyde limits

By Jeff Linville — Furniture Today
California lawmakers have voted down a bill that could have further cracked down on formaldehyde emissions from engineered wood products.
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted April 26 to impose tighter rules on formaldehyde vapors coming from plywood, particleboard and medium density fiberboard. At the same time, the state Senate was discussing Senate Bill 509 that would have enacted tighter formaldehyde restrictions than CARB had set.


CARB set limits that vary by product. By January 2017, plywood makers will have to reduce emissions to no more than 0.08 parts per million, while particleboard would be 0.18 ppm and MDF 0.21 ppm. In Phase II in 2016, the limits reduce to 0.05 ppm for plywood, 0.09 ppm for particleboard and 0.11 ppm for MDF.
SB 509, introduced in February, would have made the lowest limit (0.05 ppm) apply to all types of engineered wood boards by January 2017. Some manufacturers have said that they are concerned that meeting Phase II requirements would cost them money and raise the price of a board.
While the emissions limits were voted down, a portion of the bill remains under consideration in the state Senate. It may require companies to post warnings on their Web sites about the dangers of chemical exposure from engineered wood products. If a manufacturer or wholesaler doesn’t have a Web site, it would have to establish one in order to comply.