Canada proposes regulation for composite wood formaldehyde emissions
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The Composite Panel Association reported that the Canadian government published its proposed Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations for public comment in the Friday, June 28, 2019 edition of the Canada Gazette.

The stated objectives of the regulations are, first, to reduce potential health risks by putting limits on allowable formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products and, second, to align with similar requirements in the United States in order to create a level playing field for Canadian, American and international businesses.

According to CPA, while the scope of regulated product types and emission limits are identical to U.S. EPA TSCA Title VI regulation, the two regulations have a number of differing requirements. CPA will be reviewing the proposed regulation and providing analysis to members in the near future in preparation for developing comments. The deadline to submit comments is September 11, 2019.

In 2016, the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), working with industry and the Government of Canada, developed a voluntary standard for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products. This standard is effectively the same as the one used in California.

Products that are in compliance with the voluntary standard can be labelled as complying with the CSA standard. Most Canadian manufacturers have indicated that their products already comply with this voluntary standard.

However, since the standard is voluntary, it is unknown whether all Canadian manufacturers currently meet the standard. Although comprehensive testing has not been carried out since the implementation of the standard, some limited testing by the National Research Council of Canada has been done and showed that at least some imported products currently produce formaldehyde emissions above the CSA standard.

In the United States, the California Air Resources Board developed an airborne toxic control measure to limit formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products sold in the state. That measure has been in place since 2009.

See http://compositepanel.org.

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About the author
Karl Forth

Karl D. Forth is online editor for CCI Media. He also writes news and feature stories in FDMC Magazine, in addition to newsletters and custom publishing projects. He is also involved in event organization, and compiles the annual FDM 300 list of industry leaders. He can be reached at [email protected].