Canada Publishes New Regulation Restricting Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products

Jul. 27 2021

On July 7th, a publication in the Canada Gazette Part II made the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulation a new official law in Canada. This new regulation, SOR/2021-148, in many ways mirrors the United States law under EPA TSCA Title VI for the Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products Act. These requirements apply to applicable composite wood panels, laminated products, as well as finished goods containing composite wood materials.

Applicable composite wood means hardwood plywood, particleboard, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and thin medium-density fiberboard.

Just like the US requirement, this Canadian regulation specifies testing expectations and frequencies, formaldehyde emission limits that must be met, as well as labeling requirements for both raw composite panels and finished goods containing composite wood materials. And just like the US requirement, certification of approved materials is to be conducted at the mill level by an approved third-party certifier (TPC).

In terms of the labeling, it has been indicated that a conformance statement to the US regulation can be accepted provided the French translation is included as well. If a conformance statement per the US regulation is not present, then the statement “CANFER compliant / conforme au CANFER” shall be used. And just like the US regulation, if the amount of composite wood present in a finished good is so small that the area of the largest surface is less than or equal to 929 cm2 (144 inch2), then a label is not required for that item.

The regulation will come into force on January 7, 2023, and product manufactured or imported on or after that date is to be compliant with both the emission limits & labeling. Laminated products will have until January 7, 2028 before they are required to comply.

For more information, the final rule can be viewed at the following link: https://canadagazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p2/2021/2021-07-07/html/sor-dors148-eng.html

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