CARB Publishes Updated Guidance for Composite Wood Products Industry

In May 2019, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) published two revised guides to help the composite wood products industry. These are:
• Status of US EPA Formaldehyde Regulation and a Comparison with CARB Regulation
• Comparison of Key Requirements of CARB and US EPA TSCA Title VI Regulations to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products

These guides will help stakeholders comply with both Californian and US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations.

CARB approved the Airborne Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) in 2007-8. Implemented in two phases – January 2009 and 2010-12 – it set out formaldehyde emission standards. The second phase of ATCM was then copied in a new federal law – the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act – signed into law in July 2010. This amended the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and directed the EPA to develop regulations to implement the Act.

A Final Rule was published in December 2016, followed by an amended compliance date of June 2018. Regulated products manufactured in or imported into the US must now be certified by a fully accredited EPA TSCA Title VI Third Party Certifier (TPC) and labeled as TSCA Title VI compliant.

Both CARB and EPA have provisions relating to a variety of products, including:
• Formaldehyde emission standards for hardwood plywood-composite core (HWPW-CC), hardwood plywood-veneer core (HWPW-VC), particleboards (PBs) and medium-density fiberboards (MDFs)
• Economic operators (panel manufacturers, fabricators, distributors, importers and retailers)
• Third-party certification programs
• Incentives for products manufactured from ultra-low emitting formaldehyde resins (ULEF) and no added-formaldehyde-based resins (NAF)
• Product labeling
• Third-Party Certifiers (TPCs)

The EPA also has provisions for Accreditation Bodies (ABs).

The newly published guidelines show that the ATCM is still in force. CARB will accept composite wood panels and finished goods that comply with the TSCA Title VI regulation and are labeled as TSCA Title VI compliant. Stakeholders should be aware that, where a difference exists between CARB and EPA requirements, the more stringent rule should be observed for products in California. For example, the EPA requires record keeping for three years, not two, but CARB has more stringent de minimis labeling requirements.

To learn more about the differences, read SGS Safeguard 081/19.

SGS US Formaldehyde Emissions Certification Services
Through a global network of Third Party Certification (TPC) laboratories, SGS provides the full-range of services, including certification, analytical testing and consultancy, for formaldehyde emissions in composite wood products for California, the US and worldwide markets. Learn more about SGS’s US Formaldehyde Emissions Certification Services. [www.sgs.com/en/consumer-goods-retail/toys-and-juvenile-products/toys/us-formaldehyde-emissions-certification]

SGS SafeGuardS keep you up to date with the latest news and developments in the consumer goods industry. Read the full Carb Updates Guidelines to Assist the Composite Wood Products Industry SafeGuardS. [www.sgs.com/en/news/2019/06/safeguards-08119-carb-updates-guidelines-to-assist-the-composite-wood-products-industry]

Subscribe here, www.sgs.com/subscribesg, to receive SGS SafeGuardS direct to your inbox.

For further information contact:

Hingwo Tsang
Global Information and Innovation Manager
Tel:(+852) 2774 7420
Email: crs.media@sgs.com
Website: www.sgs.com/hardlines
LinkedIn: sgs-consumer-goods-&-retail

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SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company. SGS is recognized as the global benchmark for quality and integrity. With more than 97,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 2,600 offices and laboratories around the world.

This release was published on openPR.