CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

Germany: Formaldehyde emission limit for wood-based panels aligns with EU regulation

MAY 2024 - ELECTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

On 15 February 2024, an amendment¹ to the German Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance was published. This amendment repeals the formaldehyde requirement previously listed in Appendix 1. The update will come into force on 7 August 2026.

The German law², also known as ChemVerbotsV, mandates that wood-based panels and furniture containing wood-based materials comply with a specific formaldehyde emission limit of 0.1 ml/m³ (ppm). This regulation prohibits non-compliant products from being placed on the market.

However, the publication of formaldehyde under REACH Annex XVII Entry 77³ establishes an EU-wide restriction for formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers in articles, including wood-based materials. To align with this updated EU regulation, Germany is amending its national law to repeal the requirements under ChemVerbotsV.

[1] Ordinance amending Ordinance on the Incineration and Co-Incineration of Waste and amending the Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance

[2] Consolidated version of Chemicals Prohibition Ordinance

[3] TÜV SÜD E-ssentials Vol 6, 2023

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