EPA Proposes Composite Wood Importer Certification and Recordkeeping for Formaldehyde Emission Standards

The provisions of EPA’s proposed rule would generally apply to manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of hardwood plywood, medium-density fiberboard, and particleboard, whether in the form of a panel or a finished good. Laminated products would be included as a subset of hardwood plywood, with certain exceptions.

Exemptions from the proposed requirements include panels made with no-added formaldehyde-based resins (NAF) and ultra low-emitting formaldehyde resins (ULEF), as well as various products including the following: hardboard, structural plywood, structural panels, oriented strandboard, glued laminated lumber, prefabricated wood I-joists, finger-jointed lumber, and wood packaging.

General Product Certification Requirements

Unless a product meets one of the specified exemptions to the proposed requirements, it would need to be certified as compliant with the composite wood product formaldehyde emissions standards. Because the proposed rule adopts statutory emissions standards, this would mean certification that a product is compliant with the emission standards in TSCA Title VI. Demonstration of compliance would be through a combination of testing performed by an accredited third-party certifier and repeated on a quarterly basis, and more frequent quality control testing performed by the maker of the composite wood product, an accredited TPC, or a contract laboratory

No “Article” Exemption from TSCA Import Certification

EPA is proposing to require import certifications of compliance for composite wood products that are “articles.”¹ Under 19 CFR 12.121(b), imported “articles”are only subject to TSCA Section 13 compliance certification if specifically required by EPA. But EPA thinks most products subject to the composite wood formaldehyde emission standards can be defined as such. The import certification requirement would serve as “an important reminder” of the composite wood formaldehyde requirements, EPA said.

The import certification requirement would apply to imports of hardwood plywood, particleboard, and medium-density fiberboard panels, as well as finished goods containing such materials, EPA said. Persons importing specifically exempted products, such as structural or curved plywood, and finished goods incorporating such products, would not be required to certify.

EPA said it believes current import certification regulations are sufficient to ensure compliance with these composite wood formaldehyde standards, but is currently in discussions with CBP on whether any revisions are necessary.

Three-Year Recordkeeping Requirement

Importers would also have to “take steps to ensure that they are purchasing composite wood products or component parts that comply with the emission standards,” EPA said, and would be required to document these steps. According to the preamble to the proposed rule, this would mean the importer would have to get records from the supplier identifying the producer, date of manufacture and purchase, and bills of lading or invoices that include a written affirmation from the supplier that the product is compliant with the composite wood formaldehyde standard.

For imported finished goods, only the importer would be responsible for keeping the records identifying the panel producer date of manufacture, EPA said. For example, if the importer sells the goods to a domestic distributor, who then sells them to a domestic retailer, only the importer would have to keep the additional records.

Under the proposed rule, records would have to be kept for three years. All required records would have to be provided to EPA upon request.

Labeling Required on Panels

Panels or bundles of panels sold in the U.S. would have to be labeled with the name of the panel producer, the lot or batch number, the number of the accredited third party certifier, and markings indicating that the product complies with the composite wood formaldehyde emission standards, EPA said. Labels for products produced under the NAF or ULEF exemptions would also have to include the designation “no-added formaldehyde” or “ultra low-emitting formaldehyde.”

One-Year Grace Period

EPA is proposing a grace period, or “sell-through provision,” that would apply the rule’s requirements only to products manufactured one year after publication of the final rule in the Federal Register. Although the law requiring these regulations required a 180-day grace period, EPA said more time is needed for companies and third-party certifiers to implement the rule’s provisions. To establish that a regulated composite wood product panel was made before the manufactured-by date, the panel producer or importer and any subsequent distributor, retailer or fabricator would be required to keep records that document when the product was manufactured. Selling stockpiled regulated products would be prohibited.

Violations Subject to Criminal and Civil Penalties

Failure to comply with the composite wood formaldehyde requirements would be a prohibited act under Section 15 of TSCA, EPA said. As such, any person found to be in violation would be liable for civil and criminal penalties.

¹19 CFR 12.120(a) defines an “article” as “a manufactured item which: (i) Is formed to a specific shape or design during manufacture, (ii) Has end use functions dependent in whole or in part upon its shape or design during the end use, and (iii) Has either no change of chemical composition during its end use or only those changes of composition which have no commercial purpose separate from that of the article and that may occur as described in § 12.120(a)(2); except that fluids and particles are not considered articles regardless of shape or design.