[ciaq] Formaldehyde-California backs lowering formaldehyde in wood

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California backs lowering formaldehyde in wood.

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters), Friday, April 27, 2007,

California regulators adopted new standards on Thursday to slash the

amount of

formaldehyde allowed in wood products, a move they say will save

hundreds of

people from getting cancer every year. Over objections from some

businesses,

the California Air Resources Board approved new rules they say will

reduce the

total amount of formaldehyde released into the air in the state to

150 tons

annually, down from the current 650 tons.

" They will be the most stringent in the United States and when they

are fully

implemented they will be the most stringent in the world, " said

Dimitri Stanich,

a spokesman for the board. Formaldehyde is used in resins to bind

together

composite wood products. The new rules will be phased in starting in

2009 and

fully implemented by 2012.

Stanich said 86 to 231 per million adults develop cancers from

exposure to

formaldehyde and that the numbers would drop by 35 to 97 lifetime

cases

per million under the first phase of the new rules. Formaldehyde can

also

cause eye, nose and throat irritation. " Because these emissions

would also

substantially reduce indoor formaldehyde exposures, the largest

benefit would

be realized by buyers of new homes, " an Air Resources Board staff

report said.

At a public hearing on the issue, some manufacturers warned the new

rules would

lead to higher prices and argued unsuccessfully they needed more

time to adjust

to the regulation.