News Details

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed updates to the Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Composite Wood Products under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The proposal includes the addition of a new quality control test method, ISO 12460‑2:2024 (en). This method uses a small‑scale chamber approach to measure formaldehyde emissions from composite wood materials. EPA states that this additional, internationally recognized method is intended to improve the consistency and accuracy of emissions testing across the industry. 

Alignment with Updated Voluntary Consensus Standards 

Alongside the new test method, EPA proposing to update references to several voluntary consensus standards, ensuring that current regulatory references remain aligned with the latest versions issued by organizations such as ANSI, ASTM, BSI, ISO, and NIST. These include updated methods for desiccator testing, small- and large-scale chamber analyses, and structural plywood specifications. According to EPA, these updates are routine and reflect revisions made by the respective standard bodies, and do not change any existing health or safety protections.  

Industry Context and Regulatory Consistency 

Formaldehyde continues to play a key role in the production of widely used wood products, such as furniture, cabinetry, flooring, and plywood. EPA states that the proposed revisions are intended to maintain alignment with industry advances and ensure that regulators, manufacturers, and test laboratories operate under consistent guidelines. The agency emphasizes that these proposed changes are unrelated to its ongoing formaldehyde risk evaluation and anticipates no additional compliance costs for stakeholders.  

Public Comment Period 

With the proposal published in the Federal Register, EPA will accept public comments for 30 days via docket EPA-HQ-OPPT-2017-0245 via Regulations.gov.