EPA Issues Long-Awaited Formaldehyde Rule

August 3, 2016  by in Green, Industry   

The rule, which added Title VI to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), impacts both domestic and imported finished goods.

The EPA worked with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to draft implementation measures that are consistent with California requirements, which were adopted in 2008 and put in place the most stringent emission standards in the world for reducing formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products.

“AHFA has reviewed the 273-page rule in detail and consulted directly with EPA officials to confirm the rule’s impact on fabricators and importers of laminated wood products used as component parts of finished goods for the residential furniture industry,” CEO Andy Counts said.

He described the final rule released last week as a “significant improvement” over the EPA’s initial proposal unveiled in 2013.

“The rule proposed in 2013 would have shut our industry down with onerous and unnecessary testing,” Counts said. “Our efforts over the last several years resulted in a final rule based on a sound understanding of the products being regulated. This is a significant accomplishment for our industry.”

Key points in the final rule for home furnishings manufacturers and importers include:

1)  The rule exempts laminated products made with synthetic face veneers, oriented strand board (OSB), curved plywood and PS-1 and PS-2 structural plywood. 

2)  For covered laminated products – that is, those products that are made with a wood or woody-grass veneer attached to medium-density fiberboard or particleboard – fabricators have one year from the rule’s publication date to confirm that their platform/core panel meets the EPA emission limits – which mirror the emission limits in the CARB rule. (Note: Manufacturers who produce finished home furnishings products that contain laminated composite panel components are considered “fabricators” in the EPA and CARB rules.)

3) Fabricators of covered laminated products also have one year from the rule’s publication date to label products TSCA Title VI compliant and to meet the rule’s record-keeping requirements (including a certification statement from the composite wood panel supplier that the platform/core is TSCA Title VI compliant).

4) Importers of covered laminated products have two years from the rule’s publication date to obtain TSCA Title VI import certification. 

A second phase of compliance kicks in seven years from the rule’s publication date. Key points for home furnishings companies during this second phase include:

1)  If a company is still making laminated products using urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins after seven years, it will be subject to all the testing and certification requirements prescribed for hardwood plywood producers.

2)  If a company is using no-added-formaldehyde (NAF) resin or phenol-formaldehyde (PF) resin at the end of the seven-year period, that company will remain exempt from testing and certification.

“This last provision will prompt fabricators to move away from UF resins and switch to NAF/PF resins, if it is technically feasible, in order to claim the exemption and take advantage of not having to test/certify the intermediate laminated product and demonstrate compliance via chain-of-custody documentation,” noted AHFA Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Bill Perdue. 

“Some companies are currently using NAF or PF resins in laminated products when possible,” Perdue continued, “but this provision in the EPA rule will likely result in a significant increase in the use of NAF and PF resins.”   

AHFA continues reviewing the rule and plans more detailed guidance for its member companies in coming weeks. An importer guidance document is planned, along with a compliance toolbox and a workshop with EPA officials in January.