So the U.S. is well covered with formaldehyde regulations—what about Canada?
In 2015, Canada created a voluntary standard, “CAN/CSA‑0160” which requires products to meet the same emission standards as CARB and TSCA and meet a generally similar, although not exactly identical, administrative burden. However, unlike CARB and TSCA, there is no protocol for labeling downstream products as compliant, so you cannot currently have any flooring that is officially compliant with the Canadian standard.
The Canadian government announced in March their intention to create a national regulation which is likely to be based on this standard. They hope to roll it out sometime in 2018. We’ll be following this issue closely and keep everyone updated—the big question will be if the regulation will continue to focus only on primary panels or if will expand control to products utilizing the raw material. But in the meantime, to be safe, make sure you have space on your flooring boxes for yet another label (just in case!)
Useful Links include:
- The announcement and some details about the proposed regulation http://gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2017/2017-03-18/html/notice-avis-eng.php
- The Canadian government’s Chemical Substances Agency
http://www.chemicalsubstanceschimiques.gc.ca/index-eng.php - Links related to the standard:
https://www.scc.ca/en/news-events/news/2016/new-national-standard-canada-protects-canadians-improving-indoor-air-quality
Oh, and while we’re talking our local neighbors, Mexico is also looking at a national regulation. Here’s the link (in Spanish) to the government website on the proposed regulation: http://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=5433570&fecha=19/04/2016
A quick Google translate (very unofficial) shows that they are looking at both content and emission standards and they also seem to have set emissions a bit higher than CARB P2/EPA TSCA VI/CSA0160. (They look similar to the CARB P1 levels.) If you’re doing business in Mexico, best follow this one as well! (And have space for another label…)
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