The California Air Resources Board (CARB) enacted legislation in 2007 to reduce formaldehyde emissions in composite wood products. The Air Toxic Control Measure (ATCM) includes hardwood plywood (HWPW), particleboard (PB), and medium density fiberboard (MDF), including thin MDF less than or equal to 8 mm. It also applies to finished goods that contain these products that are offered for sale, that are supplied, used, or manufactured for sale in California.
The ATCM, in part, contains Phase I and Phase 2 compliance dates for each category of composite wood products as displayed below:
Phase 1 (P1) and 2 (P2) Emission Standards (ppm)
| Effective Date |
HWPW-VC |
HWPW-CC |
PB |
MDF |
Thin MDF |
| 1-1-2009 |
P1: 0.08 |
- |
P1: 0.18 |
P1: 0.21 |
P1: 0.21 |
| 7-1-2009 |
- |
P1: 0.08 |
- |
- |
- |
| 1-1-2010 |
P2: 0.05 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
| 1-1-2011 |
- |
- |
P2: 0.09 |
P2: 0.11 |
- |
| 1-1-2012 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
P2: 0.13 |
| 7-1-2012 |
- |
P2: 0.05 |
- |
- |
- |
California Air Resources Board (CARB) exempt (NAF/ULEF) products have no added formaldehyde (NAF) and/or ultra-low emitting formaldehyde (ULEF), and have been exempted from third party certification requirements of CARB ATCM 93120. NAUF products, as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED standard, may be used for low-emitting materials credit under LEED 2009 for Commercial Interiors and LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations for projects registered by June 1, 2015. Projects registered to LEED v4 (as of November 20, 2013) will offer LEED credit to IEQ 4.4: Low-emitting Materials for NAF and ULEF CARB compliant panels. LEED v4 does not recognize NAUF.
