Columbia Forest Products Gets CARB Exemption
March 26, 2009
Columbia Forest Products, Greensboro, N.C., North America's largest manufacturer of hardwood plywood and veneer, has received written approval from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to be exempted from routine formaldehyde emissions testing for its veneer core hardwood plywood products produced with soy-based PureBond formaldehyde-free resin technology.
The exemption was granted in the NAF (No Added Formaldehyde) resin category.
The company said PureBond is the first domestically-produced hardwood plywood brand to achieve this distinction, which assures Columbia customers that they are receiving panels that meet the challenging Phase 2 formaldehyde emission limit of 0.05 parts per million.
Though the Phase 2 limit on producing veneer core hardwood plywood destined for sale or use in California isn't scheduled to take effect until January of 2010, PureBond veneer core panels are available now.
CARB reviewed 90 days' worth of sample testing results (nearly 500 individual small chamber tests), their correlation to full panel tests, and the results of the full panel tests.
Exemption required that more than 90 percent of the samples had to pass a 0.04 ppm limit, with none of the test data exceeding 0.05 ppm, making this the most challenging formaldehyde emission standard in the world today. As a comparison, the current "HUD" standard for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products is 0.3 ppm, more than seven times higher than the Phase 2 limit.
The exemption will last for two years, after which Columbia must apply for re-approval.
Brad Thompson, Columbia Forest Products' President and CEO, said that this exemption "testifies to our decision to convert away from urea-formaldehyde adhesives throughout our seven plywood operations in favor of our PureBond formulation."
Thompson added that Columbia has gained in other ways from the conversion to PureBond.
"Our internal reject rates have actually decreased, and we have gained entry to new segments of the market," he said. "Our employees no longer work in the proximity of formaldehyde fumes, and our customers are now able to avoid potential indoor air quality issues as well. "We felt that everybody would benefit with PureBond, and now the California Air Resource Board has validated this perspective by granting our mills this exemption."
The exemption was granted in the NAF (No Added Formaldehyde) resin category.
The company said PureBond is the first domestically-produced hardwood plywood brand to achieve this distinction, which assures Columbia customers that they are receiving panels that meet the challenging Phase 2 formaldehyde emission limit of 0.05 parts per million.
Though the Phase 2 limit on producing veneer core hardwood plywood destined for sale or use in California isn't scheduled to take effect until January of 2010, PureBond veneer core panels are available now.
CARB reviewed 90 days' worth of sample testing results (nearly 500 individual small chamber tests), their correlation to full panel tests, and the results of the full panel tests.
Exemption required that more than 90 percent of the samples had to pass a 0.04 ppm limit, with none of the test data exceeding 0.05 ppm, making this the most challenging formaldehyde emission standard in the world today. As a comparison, the current "HUD" standard for formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products is 0.3 ppm, more than seven times higher than the Phase 2 limit.
The exemption will last for two years, after which Columbia must apply for re-approval.
Brad Thompson, Columbia Forest Products' President and CEO, said that this exemption "testifies to our decision to convert away from urea-formaldehyde adhesives throughout our seven plywood operations in favor of our PureBond formulation."
Thompson added that Columbia has gained in other ways from the conversion to PureBond.
"Our internal reject rates have actually decreased, and we have gained entry to new segments of the market," he said. "Our employees no longer work in the proximity of formaldehyde fumes, and our customers are now able to avoid potential indoor air quality issues as well. "We felt that everybody would benefit with PureBond, and now the California Air Resource Board has validated this perspective by granting our mills this exemption."
