Draft Regulations to Label Formaldehyde Emissions from Furniture Containing Wood-Based Panels

In January 2017, the Ministry of the Environment, Energy and the Sea notified the European Commission of its intention to publish a Decree and an Order related to the labeling of furniture products, vis-à-vis of their emissions of volatile pollutants.

These bills fall within the framework of Act No. 2009-67 of 3 August 2009 on the implementation of the "Grenelle de l'Environnement" (Article 40), which stipulates a labeling of emissions of volatile pollutants and prohibits the presence of carcinogenic, mutagenic or reprotoxic substances of categories 1 and 2 (CMR1 and CMR2).
A public consultation was subsequently posted on the Ministry of Environment website and is now complete.
The draft Decree and Order are currently available on the website of the European Commission by clicking on the links below:
Draft decree  Draft Order

Draft Order: http://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/tris/en/search/?trisaction=search.detail&year=2017&num=23

Products and pollutants concerned

This new regulatory framework plans to make the labeling of formaldehyde emissions for furniture products containing wood-based panels mandatory.
The labeling concerns the products mentioned above insofar as they are intended, exclusively or not, for indoor use.
On the other hand, contrary to the labeling of emissions from construction and decoration products, this draft regulation does not include the measurement of other substances, such as Total Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
The Ministry of the Environment also points out that second-hand furniture is not covered by this draft regulation and that a minimum production threshold of ten identical copies must be reached in order to make this labeling mandatory.

Deadlines

The entry into force of this draft regulation is planned in two stages:

- 01/01/2020: for products made available on the market for the first time from that date

- 01/01/2021: for products made available on the market before 01/01/2020

Determination of exposure concentrations

Two methods are possible for determining exposure concentrations:

First method: Emission chamber tests

The authorized standards for the measurement of formaldehyde are as follows:

1) NF EN ISO 16000-3: Determination of formaldehyde and other carbonyl compounds - Active sampling method (December 2011).

2) NF EN 717-1: Wood-based panels - Determination of formaldehyde release - Part 1: Emission of formaldehyde by the chamber method (March 2005).

3) Or any French or harmonized standard relating to the characterization of formaldehyde emissions

Technical Guide
The publication by the Ministry of the Environment of a technical guide entitled "Test protocol for the characterization of emissions of volatile pollutants by furniture products" is expected shortly.
This guide is likely to provide further guidance on the different ways of determining exposure concentrations and selection of test chambers.

Second method: Calculation of the concentration from the various components of the piece of furniture

The exposure concentration of the entire piece of furniture can be determined by calculation, based on the prior knowledge of the emission factors of the raw panels that make up the entire piece of furniture.
This information will be provided in the Technical Guide.

Regulatory label

The regulatory label (logo) is identical to the label for building and decorative materials.
Only the minimum dimensions are different (60 mm * 120 mm) and the text accompanying the label: « (*) Information sur le niveau d’émission de formaldéhyde dans l’air intérieur, présentant un risque de toxicité par inhalation, sur une échelle allant de A+ (très faibles émissions) à C (fortes émissions) » which can be translated by :

 “(*) Information on the level of formaldehyde emission in indoor air, presenting a risk of inhalation toxicity, on a scale ranging from A + (very low emissions) to C (high emissions) ".

Emission Classes

As it stands, four classes have been defined in the draft regulation:

The Eurofins Product Testing laboratory is accredited to EN ISO / IEC 17025 for testing formaldehyde emissions in test chambers according to ISO 16000-3, -9 and EN 717-1. We test the emissions of furniture but also those of construction products, decorative and household products in order to meet the requirements of many international regulations and labels.

If you have any questions regarding this draft regulation, please do not hesitate to contact us by e-mail at the following address: carolinelaffargue@eurofins.com