OnJuly7,2021,EnvironmentCanadaandtheMinistryofHealthapprovedthecompoundwoodformaldehydeemissionregulations.TheregulationshavebeenpublishedinthesecondpartoftheCanadianGazetteandwillcomeintoeffectonJanuary7,2023.Thefollowingarethekeypointsoftheregulations:

　　1.Scopeofcontrol

　　Thisregulationappliestoanycompositewoodproductscontainingformaldehyde.MostcompositewoodproductsimportedorsoldinCanadamustmeetthecorrespondingrequirements.However,theemissionrequirementsforlaminateswillnotcomeintoeffectuntilJanuary7,2028.

　　Inaddition,aslongastherearerecordstoprove,productsmanufacturedorimportedinCanadabeforetheeffectivedatearenotsubjecttothisregulation.

　　2.Formaldehydeemissionlimit

　　Thisregulationsetsthemaximumformaldehydeemissionstandardforcompositewoodproducts.Theseemissionlimitsareexpressedintermsoftheconcentrationofformaldehydeobtainedbyspecifictestmethods(ASTMD6007,ASTME1333),whicharethesameastheemissionlimitsoftheUSEPATSCATitleVIregulations:

　　0.05ppmforhardwoodplywood

　　Particleboardis0.09ppm

　　0.11ppmformediumdensityfiberboard

　　0.13ppmforthinmediumdensityfiberboardand

　　0.05ppmforlaminates

　　3.Labelingandcertificationrequirements

　　AllcompositewoodproductsmustbelabeledbeforetheyaresoldinCanada,orthesellermustkeepacopyofthelabelandprovideitatanytime.Therearealreadybilinguallabels(EnglishandFrench)indicatingthatcompositewoodproductsthatcomplywithTSCATitleVIregulationsintheUnitedStateswillberecognizedasmeetingCanadianlabelingrequirements.

　　Compositewoodandlaminateproductsmustalsobecertifiedbyathird-partycertificationbody(TPC)beforebeingimportedorsold(note:compositewoodproductsthathaveobtainedTSCATitleVIcertificationwillbeacceptedbythisregulation).

　　4.Recordkeepingrequirements

　　ManufacturersofcompositewoodpanelsandlaminateswillberequiredtokeepalargenumberoftestrecordsandprovidetheserecordstothemattherequestoftheMinistryofEnvironment.Importersandretailerswillneedtokeepthecertificationstatementsfortheirproducts.Forimporters,therearesomeadditionalrequirements.

　　Inaddition,theregulationwillalsorequireallregulatedcompaniestoidentifythemselvesbyinformingtheMinistryofEnvironmentoftheregulatedactivitiestheyparticipateinandtheircontactinformation.

　　5.Reportingrequirements

　　Thosewhomanufacture,import,sellorsellcompositewoodproductscontainingformaldehydemustprovidethefollowingwritteninformationtotheMinistryofEnvironment:

　　(a)Name,address,telephonenumber,e-mailandthenameoftherelevantcontactperson;

　　(b)Astatementastowhetherthecompanymanufactures,imports,sellsorprovidescompositewoodpanels,laminatedproducts,partsorfinishedproducts.