Lead testing finally ends for composite wood products
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WASHINGTON - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has issued a final rule determining that certain untreated and unfinished engineered wood products - mainly particleboard, hardwood plywood, and MDF - no longer require third-party testing used to demonstrate compliance with lead and heavy metals in children's products.
 
Specifically, engineered wood products would not be required to have third-party testing for compliance with the requirements for lead, ASTM F963 elements, or phthalates for children's products, children's toys, and child care articles. The new rule takes effect July 23.
 
The American Home Furnishings Alliance (AHFA) has advocated strongly before the CPSC on this issue since 2014. The AHFA said that untreated and unfinished engineered wood products do not contain lead, so they should be exempt from having to undergo third-party testing. AHFA submitted details on the entire manufacturing process to the CPSC - highlighting the absence of lead.
 
Section 101 of the CPSIA set lead limits for the substrate of any accessible part of a children’s product, as well as for the paint that coats a children’s product or household furniture. Furniture and wood product manufacturers had to institute an often cumbersome process for testing for lead in children's furniture.
 
The CPSC’s ruling can be reviewed in its entirety in the Federal Register. 

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About the author
Robert Dalheim

Robert Dalheim is an editor at the Woodworking Network. Along with publishing online news articles, he writes feature stories for the FDMC print publication. He can be reached at [email protected].