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USA: EPA revised voluntary standards for Formaldehyde emission from composite wood products

FEBRUARY 2023 - ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its final rule¹ to amend 40 CFR Part 770, Formaldehyde standards for composite wood products, on 21 February 2023. This rule updates ten (10) voluntary consensus standards, allows a third-party certifier (TPC) to carry out remote inspection and includes corrections for better alignment with California’s Air Resources Board (CARB) requirements. The final rule is effective on 23 March 2023.

Back in March 2022², EPA carried out a public consultation to propose technical updates to 40 CFR Part 770. In September 2022³, two additional technical updates on standards were proposed. In February 2023, EPA issued final rules to address the amendments accordingly. 

Here are the highlights of the updates:

1. Updates ten (10) voluntary consensus standards to reflect the editions of the standards currently in use by regulated entities and industry stakeholders. This aims to ensure consistency with industry standards. It is worth noting that the testing method of formaldehyde in composite wood ASTM D6007-14 remains unchanged even though ASTM published an updated version⁴ in 2022;
2. Increases flexibility for the third-party certification process which allows TPCs to utilise external evaluation resources;
3. Addresses remote inspections in limited circumstances. TPCs may perform these activities remotely via video teleconference when it is temporarily impossible to do on-site and in person because of unsafe conditions e.g., COVID-19 public health emergency;
4. Improves regulatory consistency through technical corrections. This allows EPA rules better align with CARB requirements. The timing of panel testing after production, the equivalency determination corrections and the requirements for testing data for no-added formaldehyde-based resin (NAF) and ultra-low-emitting formaldehyde resins (ULEF) are clarified in this update. 

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[1] Federal Register Vol. 88, No. 34, 21 February 2023

[2] EPA’s public consultation to update standards in March 2022

[3] EPA’s supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking in September 2022

[4] ASTM D6007-22, Standard Test Method for Determining Formaldehyde Concentrations in Air from Wood Products Using a Small-Scale Chamber