A decidedly important 2024 for Catas, which has seen its role as a center of excellence in the wood-furniture sector at the international level reconfirmed-just in the last part of the year that has just ended. Sandro Ciroi, the laboratory’s contact person for issues related to formaldehyde emission – was invited as a speaker at the 13th edition of the European Wood-based panel Symposium, held in Hamburg, where he presented a paper that enabled the approximately 400 technicians, operators, scientists and entrepreneurs who had arrived from all over the world to learn about the state of the art on the new limits set by European regulations in terms of formaldehyde emission.
The report-crafted and presented four-handedly with Bettina Meyer, from the prestigious Fraunhofer WKI in Braunschweig-not only traced the evolution of regulations on the subject, but turned the spotlight on the expected regulatory developments that will come into force from August 2026 and that will reduce the “permitted” emissions by half compared to the current limit, bringing them down to 0.05 ppm (parts per million) or 0.062 milligrams per cubic meter.
A European regulation that will not only affect wood-based panels, but will progressively involve every other product that emits this substance, which is moreover “ubiquitous” in nature.
The two rapporteurs also reminded those present that to date the European Chemicals Agency has not yet published the revised guidelines for measuring formaldehyde release, due last October, a document essential for testing laboratories to properly verify compliance with the new regulations.
In anticipation of this indispensable “passage,” the Hamburg meeting-organized every two years by Fraunhofer WKI and EPF-European Panel Federation, in cooperation with the International Association for technical issues related to wood (iVTH)-saw the two technicians involved in a conversation that certainly made the challenging content offered to the audience “lighter.” They talked about the path leading to the new revision of the “formaldehyde chapter” contained in the European REACH regulation-“Registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions of chemicals,” the register of all chemicals used on the continent with which restrictions may be associated-and which articles, goods and products are involved or excluded.
Ciroi and Meyer then reminded those present of the existence of a voluntary working group made up of the most important European laboratories in the wood-furniture sector, which is committed to drawing up a “common charter” thanks to which it will be possible to define all the technical specifications not present in the regulation, so as to make it possible to harmonize testing activities in different countries, to the benefit of companies that use wood-based panels, which will thus be able to confront a certain scenario.
Bettina Meyer and Sandro Ciroi concluded their contribution by trying to imagine, on the basis of their studies and expertise, what the dictate of regulations to safeguard consumer protection might be in the future, obviously regarding the formaldehyde content of products, a topic that has always been at the attention of legislators.
