What You Should Know About EPA TSCA Certification for Wood Panels
Required standard by the laws of the United States of America. Since 1976, the US authorities created the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which gives the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the power and responsibility to control any of the substances determined to cause an irreparable risk to the public health or the environment.
The Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) currently includes six titles, each referring to a particularly toxic substance. The sixth title refers to the formaldehyde standards for composite wood products that include plywood. made of wood such as Plywood, Medium Density Fiberboards, and wood particle boards -also known as Chipboard-.
The TSCA Title VI standard seeks to ensure that wood products sold, delivered, offered for sale, imported, or manufactured in the United States comply with the regulation’s parameters. The standard requires an entity outside the manufacturer to audit and certify the formaldehyde emissions of the products mentioned above are within the allowed levels.
There are some aspects that any entity dedicated to the commercialization or transformation of the composite wood panel must take care of and maintain: Product records, import certificates, and labeling to the United States.
What records should I keep?
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Records for laminators or manufacturers of products using composite panels
Manufacturers of products using composite wood panels do not need to test for formaldehyde emissions or meet third-party certification requirements. However, they must ensure that they only purchase composite wood panels that meet the established requirements.
Whether the boards are unfinished or incorporated into components or finished products, records indicating the panel complies with these standards must be kept for three years from the date of import/export to the US or purchase of the composite wood product.
Records must include cargo receipts, invoices, or similar documents, as well as a written statement certifying that the composite wood product purchased is in full compliance with Title VI.
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Records for distributors and importers to the United States
To ensure that products are incorporated into the commercial chain within the TSCA regulations, you must ask your suppliers to specify that the products comply with the provisions of Title VI of TSCA.
You must obtain and retain the following records:
- Records that identify the plywood producer that you import or the plywood producer that is incorporated into the components or finished items that are imported.
- If you buy boards, you need to verify that the panel’s producer is on the list of certified factories. You can consult this information in the following link of the Composite Panel Association list of certified companies.
- The date the composite wood product boards were manufactured.
- Records identifying your supplier, if different from the dashboard manufacturer, and the date of purchase of the composite wood product boards, components, or finished items.
- Freight receipts, invoices, or similar documents containing a supplier statement that the composite wood product boards, components, or finished items comply with TSCA Title VI or were imported before December 12 of 2017.
These records must be kept for three years from the date of importation or the dates of acquisition or shipment that appear in the records.
For more information on registration requirements, you can consult the website of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in its section referring to formaldehyde http://www.epa.gov/formaldehyde where you can get more information and download the Compliance Guide for small entities for importers, distributors, and retailers.
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About
the import certificate
After March 1, 2019, for each imported shipment of composite wood products, or component parts or finished goods that contain composite wood products, you must sign the following certification under TSCA section 13:
“I certify that all chemicals in this shipment comply with all applicable regulations and orders under TSCA and that I do not offer any chemicals that may represent a violation of TSCA or any applicable regulation or order of TSCA.”
The certification must appear on the entry document or invoice for each shipment of imported composite wood products.
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About
Labeling
All composite wood boards that are imported into the United States must comply with TSCA Title VI, and the label on the composite wood panels must include the name of the board producer, the lot number, a Certification Body number ( TPC) of Title VI TSCA recognized by EPA, and a statement of TSCA Title VI compliance.
Although panel producers and manufacturers have primary responsibility for labeling wooden boards, if a board is not individually labeled, then the board’s importer, distributor, manufacturer of finished products, components, or retailer must have a method (for example, color-coded border mark) sufficient to identify the supplier of the board and link the information on the label to the products.
Labels for finished products or components imported into the United States after March 22, 2019, must include the manufacturer’s name, the date the finished good was produced (in month/year format), and a declaration of Title compliance. VI of the TSCA.
Regulated composite wood products and finished products containing composite wood products, manufactured or imported in the United States must be labeled “In compliance with TSCA Title VI / TSCA Title VI compliant.” You can consult more information about the labeling of these products by clicking here.
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Duraplay is a certified composite panel producer in compliance with TSCA Title VI
In line with compliance with this regulation, we would like to remind our readers that DURAPLAY maintains its certification to produce panels to order in compliance with EPA TSCA Title VI standards for Duraplay PB, Fibraplay MDF, PLYWOOD by Duraplay, and Duracore Veneered.
These certifications provide our clients with the assurance that our production lines and processes meet the highest standards required by the authorities and the US market to make all their projects possible.