About Formaldehyde: Consumer Safety

At environmentally relevant exposure levels, formaldehyde poses a negligible risk to humans and the environment. Technological advances in the ''80s and '90s resulted in reduced formaldehyde emissions. Advances in resin chemistry and board product control improvements enabled the composite panel industry to successfully reduce finished board emissions by more than 80 percent. Most of the particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF) and hardwood plywood substrates are certified to low formaldehyde emission standards set by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI A208.1, ANSI A208.2 and ANSI/HPVA HP1, respectively).

Regulation of formaldehyde has been extensive. Four federal agencies have regulated formaldehyde and three have addressed residential exposure. Mandatory government regulations set standards to protect human health and the environment. For example, HUD has set product emission standards for particleboard and plywood installed in manufactured homes. Labeling is also required. The HUD standards successfully lowered formaldehyde emissions not only in mobile homes, but in wood products generally.

The formaldehyde industry continues to improve its technology to minimize emissions and increase product quality and performance.