Details of House Committee Bill to Limit Formaldehyde Emissions in Composite Wood Products
The following are details of H.R. 4805, the ”Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act” which the House Energy and Commerce Committee ordered favorably reported1 on May 26, 2010.
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(A companion bill was introduced in the Senate on September 10, 2009 and ordered favorably reported1 by the Committee on Environment and Public Works in April 2010. According to a House Energy and Commerce Committee memorandum, H.R. 4805 reflects the changes made in the reported Senate committee bill.)
Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Imported/Domestic Wood Panels and Products
H.R. 4805 would add a new Section 601 to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) that would establish formaldehyde emission standards for hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and particleboard sold, supplied, offered for sale, or manufactured in the U.S.
For unfinished panels & finished goods. These formaldehyde emission standards would apply regardless of whether the hardwood plywood, MDF, or particleboard was in the form of an unfinished panel or incorporated into a finished good.
Imports. As TSCA Section 13 requires that any chemical substance, mixture, or article containing a chemical substance or mixture be refused entry into the customs territory of the U.S. if it fails to comply with any rule in effect under TSCA, imports of hardwood plywood, MDF, or particleboard would also have to comply with the formaldehyde emission requirements.
Same as CA standards. According to the Committee memorandum, the emission standards would be the same as California’s current standards for formaldehyde emissions in composite wood products. (See H.R. 4805 for specific standards for each subject product.)
Exceptions. The formaldehyde emission standard would not apply to the following twelve products:
| wood packaging material | certain structural composite lumber |
| certain structural plywood | certain composite wood-containing doors & garage doors |
| certain structural panels | certain prefabricated wood I-joists |
| oriented strand board | certain glued laminated lumber |
| hardboard | certain windows containing composite wood products |
| finger-jointed lumber | composite wood products used inside certain new vehicles, boats, etc. |
EPA Would Issue Regulations by Jan 2013 with “Sell Through Provisions,” Etc.
The Environmental Protection Agency would be required to issue regulations implementing the formaldehyde emission standards no later than January 1, 2013.2
Effective date & “sell through provisions.” The regulations would be effective 180 days after they were issued, except that the EPA would be required to establish “sell-through provisions” based on a designated date of manufacture (which would be no earlier than 180 days after the regulations were issued) of the subject products, rather than on date of sale. In addition, the EPA would have to indicate that the emission standards would not apply to products sold from inventory which were manufactured before the designated date of manufacture. (With these provisions, the standards would only apply to products manufactured after the designated date of manufacture to allow for the “sell through” of existing merchandise.)
Third-party testing, certification, labeling, etc. In addition, the regulations would have to include provisions relating to: labeling; chain of custody requirements; ultra low-emitting formaldehyde resins; no-added formaldehyde-based resins; finished goods; third-party testing and certification; auditing and reporting of third-party certifiers; recordkeeping; enforcement; laminated products; and exceptions for products and components containing de minimis amounts of composite wood products.
EPA/CBP Would Revise Regs by July 2013 to Ensure Compliance of Imports
No later than July 1, 20133, EPA, in coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other appropriate Federal departments and agencies, would be required to revise regulations pursuant to TSCA Section 13 (on the compliance of imports with TSCA regulations) to ensure compliance of imported hardwood plywood, MDF, and particleboard with the formaldehyde emission requirements.
1The Committees approved both bills as an amendment in the nature of a substitute, which is an amendment that strikes out the entire text of a bill and inserts a different full text. An amendment in the nature of a substitute can be similar to the bill it replaces, or quite different.
2H.R. 4805 states that EPA would have to issue these regulations by January 1, 2012. However, an amendment to H.R. 4805, which was also adopted by the subcommittee, changed this date to January 1, 2013.
3H.R. 4805 states that EPA/CBP would have to issue these regulations by July 1, 2012. However, an amendment to H.R. 4805, which was also adopted by the subcommittee, changed this date to July 1, 2013.
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 03/29/10 news, 10032955, for BP summary of a March 2010 House hearing on H.R. 4805.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 12/05/08, 04/14/09 and 06/10/09 news, 08120520, 09041415, and 09041415, for BP summaries of California’s measure to reduce formaldehyde emissions in composite wood products.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 04/20/10 news, 10042020, for BP summary of the companion Senate bill, S. 1660, being reported.)
Committee information on H.R. 4805 is available here.