The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued its final ruling that limits formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products made, sold or imported in the United States.

The congressionally mandated rules, which are estimated to impact nearly one million entities, require that specified wood products containing formaldehyde be tested, certified and labeled, unless otherwise exempt.

Formaldehyde is used as an adhesive in many composite wood products. Credit: EPA The ruling is the result of the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products Act of 2010, which established emission standards for formaldehyde from composite wood products and directed the EPA to finalize a rule on implementing and enforcing provisions covering composite wood products.

Formaldehyde is used as an adhesive in a wide range of common wood products such as flooring, cabinets, bookcases, some furniture and building materials like plywood, fiberboard, particleboard and wood panels. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause adverse health effects including eye, nose and throat irritation, other respiratory symptoms and cancer, according to the EPA.

The ruling also includes provisions for laminated products, product testing requirements, labeling, recordkeeping, and import certification and establishes a third-party certification program for laboratory testing to ensure that wood products containing formaldehyde are in compliance with the emission standards.

All wood panel producers are required to have their products tested by an EPA TSCA Title VI third-party certifier (TPC) for compliance with the standards. The TPCs are also required to conduct quality control tests on a regular basis to verify that regulated composite wood products meet emissions standards as well as to inspect panel producers’ products and records and verify quality control test results.

By December 2017, all composite wood products sold, supplied, offered for sale, manufactured or imported in the U.S. must be labeled as TSCA Title VI compliant.