Jeff Linville
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Furniture makers and importers are certain to be affected if proposed tough California formaldehyde


emission regulations, now in the works, go into effect, perhaps in 2015.

Engineered wood suppliers say the cost per board foot could double, forcing furniture resources to raise prices.

The California Air Resources Board, or CARB, is likely to seek tighter restrictions on formaldehyde emissions from manufactured wood products such as plywood, particleboard and medium-density fiberboard, all widely used in furniture. A composite wood Air Toxic Control Measure would apply not only to California-based manufacturers but to anyone providing goods to California retailers.

Formaldehyde is an irritant that, in strong doses, causes watery eyes, sinus irritation, coughing, wheezing, nausea and skin irritation. Concentrations of 10 to 15 parts per million have been found to cause nasal cancer in rats, and in June 2004 the International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified formaldehyde as a known human carcinogen.

Mike Genrich, vice president of sales at California-based wood resource Sandberg, said that if board costs double, the company couldn’t absorb the increase and would have to hike prices.

Sandberg Furniture appeared before CARB in June to discuss its concerns. Phillip Sweet, Sandberg’s vice president of domestic operations, said he doubted the state would be able to test adequately the offshore-made furniture pouring into California ports for formaldehyde emissions, particularly finished product.
The CARB Public Information Office said it was “still developing a test method for finished goods using compliant boards.”

Domestic furniture makers and engineered wood suppliers fear importers might be able to get around any restrictions, while they will have to comply, since the state likely would visit domestic facilities and test onsite. That could give imports a further boost, since they would cost less, they contend, likely putting more domestic companies out of business.

CARB had planned to vote on approving proposed for-maldehyde emission restrictions at its Sept. 28 meeting, but after concerns on testing methods and policing imports were raised, the board decided to postpone the vote until later, possibly December or January.

Chris Leffel, vice president of sales and marketing for Sierra Pine, which makes the substrates that go into much case goods, said he and others will continue to talk with the air resources office to help identify and correct holes in the draft control measure.

Currently, the industry standard for formaldehyde emissions from particleboard is 0.3 parts per million, said Leffel. If California’s Phase I restrictions go into effect in July 2015, as has been discussed, the standard would be cut in half to 0.15 ppm. In July 2017, Phase II would lower the amount to 0.05 ppm, 83% less than the current standard.

For plywood, the Phase I limit is 0.09 ppm, with Phase II going to 0.03 ppm. For MDF, Phase I is 0.19 and Phase II is 0.05. The proposal allows MDF producers two extra years to reach the second level, with a start date of July 1, 2012.

But the Phase II levels are so low that some composite wood executives wonder if they can even measure such amounts accurately. Leffel said he has been working with the CARB team for nearly five years, and said Sierra Pine and other companies in the Composite Panel Assn. already have met Phase I benchmarks.
“We have supported this,” he said.

For the entire wood industry to reach Phase I compliance, Leffel said, “It’s going to cost us, but we can achieve it,” since that won’t require large capital expenditures. But achieving the lower Phase II levels will, he said.

Urea formaldehyde is used in the resin that holds together manufactured wood products. MDF uses small fibers mixed with resin under heavy pressure, while particleboard can use larger particles in resin. Plywood uses resin to bond the layers of wood. Manufacturers are unsure how much emissions can be lowered using formaldehyde-based resins.

Other types of bonding resins are available that could help companies meet stricter requirements, but they cost more, require more work to make and might not perform adequately, Leffel said. Some plywood companies have experimented with soybean-based adhesives, but he said this technology is not yet feasible for particleboard or MDF, and may never be.