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Canada: Public consultation on regulations of Formaldehyde emission from composite wood products

JUNE 2023 - HARDLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The Canadian Government launched a 75-day public consultation¹ to amend Regulations of the formaldehyde emission from composite wood products (SOR/2021-148²) on 17 June 2023. This aims to clarify the regulations’ details and minimise the risk of misinterpretation. Interested parties are welcome to submit their comments.

The proposed amendments to the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations would make the following changes:

• Remove the accreditation requirement for laboratories conducting routine quality control of formaldehyde emissions testing;
• Clarify the recordkeeping requirements for finished goods along the composite wood products supply chain. Specifically, the amendments require only a single manufacturer's attestation affirming that only certified panels were incorporated into a finished good, rather than collecting declarations for each type of composite wood panel within a finished good;
• Make several minor changes to the Regulations by clarifying certain requirements, correcting minor technical aspects, enhancing enforceability, and lining up the English and French versions of the regulatory text;
• Further align the requirements with the TSCA Title VI adopted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). These recent changes relate to the performance standards for reduced testing for no-added formaldehyde or ultra-low emitting formaldehyde resins, and the equations required to establish equivalence with the American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) emission testing methods.

This proposed regulation may come into force on the 90th day after the day it is published in the Canada Gazette.

[1] Public consultation of amending Regulations of the formaldehyde emission from composite wood products

[2] Formaldehyde emission from composite wood products regulations (SOR/2021-148)

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