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Lower Formaldehyde Emissions

Formaldehyde Quick Facts:

• APA Rated panels use only moisture resistant adhesives that are exempt from U.S. HUD and California formaldehyde regulations due to their very low emission rates.


• Formaldehyde occurs naturally, and it’s all around us. Humans, plants and animals produce formaldehyde as a normal part of living.

When choosing APA trademarked engineered wood panels, you can be sure the glues used in their manufacture are safe for both builders and consumers. Performance panels manufactured in accordance with U.S. Voluntary Product Standards PS 1 and PS 2 use phenol formaldehyde or diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI). Their unique chemistry makes these waterproof adhesives highly durable and stable, resulting in low formaldehyde emissions.

In fact, large-scale chamber tests have shown that formaldehyde emission levels in engineered wood panels are no higher than the levels found naturally in the environment. Indeed, because formaldehyde levels associated with phenolic resin-bonded products are so low, these products easily meet or have been exempted from the world’s leading formaldehyde emissions standards and regulations, including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Air Toxic Control Measure for Composite Wood Products, Japanese Agricultural Standards (JAS), and the EN 300 standard for European markets.

California Sets Limits on Formaldehyde Emissions

California's Air Resources Board (CARB), a division of the California EPA, is working to enact new regulations to reduce formaldehyde emissions from wood panels and products made from wood panels used in the state. The new regulations will establish the most stringent formaldehyde emission limits on wood products in the United States. The measure requires that wood panels and products manufactured from wood panels be certified by a "third party" laboratory approved by the CARB as meeting California's emissions requirements. Panel manufacturers, importers, distributors, fabricators and installers can all be held responsible for assuring that their products comply. The new emissions limits are scheduled to be phased in starting 2009 and fully implemented in 2012. Click here for more information on the proposed regulations. Click here to read the entire proposed regulation order. Click here to download a Composite Panel Association Fact Sheet on the new California regulation. 

Because structural wood products certified by APA under U.S. Voluntary Product Standards PS 1 and PS 2 are manufactured with moisture resistant adhesives that emit formaldehyde at very low levels well below the CARB limits, the wood panels are exempt from the CARB regulations.

FEMA Applies New Formaldehyde Standards for Travel Trailers

A recent investigation conducted by FEMA has uncovered new information on formaldehyde emissions in travel trailers. The research suggests that ventilating the units can greatly reduce formaldehyde levels. FEMA is continuing to research actions to help reduce formaldehyde emissions. In addition, it has adopted formaldehyde standards, developed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for wood products used in the travel trailer industry. Read FEMA's statement.

Imported Panels Exhibit High Levels of Formaldehyde

APA has cautioned the marketplace to beware of Chinese and other panel imports that are either unmarked or improperly, and in many cases even fraudulently, labeled. Recently, APA tested samples of non-trademarked imported concrete form panels and imported Chinese and Brazilian plywood panels. Test results indicated that the concrete form samples had an average load capacity of approximately 40 percent below the level of APA PS 1 Plyform® plywood. Most of the imported panels had formaldehyde emission levels that far exceeded those of domestic PS 1 panels. Additional information is available by downloading a summary of the concrete form test results.

The imported Chinese and Brazilian plywood panels also exhibited inferior mechanical and connection properties and had excessive levels of formaldehyde compared to domestic plywood certified to PS 1.   For further information, download a summary of the imported Chinese and Brazilian plywood test results.

The Engineered Wood Products Association of Australia (EWPAA) also tested the performance and formaldehyde levels of imported plywood samples and discovered similar results. For details, view the EWPAA Case Studies in Non-certified Imported Plywood. 

Performance Panels - An Environmental Solution

Green building specifications often include preferences for wood products provided they are manufactured with adhesives with very low formaldehyde emission levels or are made with adhesives that do not include urea formaldehyde. APA Rated panels meet both of these requirements and, therefore, may gain preferential recognition under green building specifications.

Formaldehyde, Phenolic Adhesive, and Engineered Wood Products

Formaldehyde is a ubiquitous molecule, commonly found in small amounts in the environment.

• It's a by-product of incomplete combustion, present in car exhaust and cigarette smoke.
• It's also a naturally occurring biological molecule found in living organisms. Human blood contains about 2 ppm of formaldehyde.
• Because it's a one-carbon molecule, it's used as a building block to create larger biological molecules.
• It forms naturally in the atmosphere, as well.

Formaldehyde is used in numerous ways in manufacturing. It's used in the production of plastics, vaccines, personal care products – and even in the production of paper money.

Phenolic adhesive, used extensively in the engineered wood industry, is made by reacting formaldehyde with phenol. This irreversible reaction is called "curing." Once cured, phenolic adhesive is a solid polymer that is highly durable and moisture resistant. It has properties completely different from formaldehyde. The curing process is so thorough that all but an insignificant amount of the available formaldehyde is used up in the reaction.

Measuring Formaldehyde Emissions in Engineered Wood Products

Formaldehyde emission tests (ASTM E-1333) conducted on APA Rated panels showed that their emissions were below 0.1 parts per million.  In fact, formaldehyde emissions from the panels were so low they could not be accurately distinguished from background levels.

In the last few years, there has been a remarkable amount of research on the effects of formaldehyde on human health. Visit http://www.formaldehyde.org/ for an overview of current research.  It is widely believed that it would take prolonged exposure to high levels of formaldehyde to affect a person's health.  Given their very low emissions, it can be inferred that APA Rated panels present exceedingly low potential for health problems due to formaldehyde exposure. 

For information on measuring the formaldehyde emitting potential of wood products, refer to APA Technical Report: Structural Wood Panels and Formaldehyde, Form SPE-1040.

For More Information

For more information on formaldehyde and its presence in wood building materials, please refer to the following publications and websites:

• Wood Facts: Formaldehyde Emissions and Exemptions, Form J330
• APA Technical Report: Structural Wood Panels and Formaldehyde, From SPE-1040
• APA Product Advisory: Imported Hardwood Plywood vs. Domestic PS 1, Form SP-1136
• APA Testing of Formaldehyde Emissions from Imported Hardwood Concrete Form Plywood (APA White Paper)
• California Air Resources Board
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• National Safety Council
• FEMA
• Formaldehyde Council
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention