(a) Producers of composite wood product panels made with no-added formaldehyde-based resins may apply to an EPA TSCA Title VI TPC or to CARB for a two-year exemption from the testing requirements in §770.20 and certification requirements in §§770.15 and 770.40(b). The application must contain the following:

(1) The panel producer's name, address, and telephone number;

(2) An identification of the specific product and the resin system;

(3) At least one test conducted under the supervision of an EPA TSCA Title VI TPC pursuant to test method ASTM E1333-14 or ASTM D6007-14 (incorporated by reference, see §770.99). Test results obtained by ASTM D6007-14 must include a showing of equivalence in accordance with §770.20(d)(1); and

(4) Three months of routine quality control tests under §770.20, including a showing of correlation in accordance with §770.20(d)(2), totaling not less than thirteen quality control tests.

(b) The EPA TSCA Title VI TPC will approve a panel producer's application within 90 calendar days of receipt if the application is complete and demonstrates that the candidate product achieves the emission standards described in paragraph (c) of this section.

(c) As measured according to paragraphs (a)(3) and (4) of this section, the emission standards for composite wood products made with no-added formaldehyde-based resins are as follows:

(1) No test result higher than 0.05 parts per million (ppm) of formaldehyde for hardwood plywood and 0.06 ppm for particleboard, medium-density fiberboard, and thin medium-density fiberboard.

(2) No higher than 0.04 ppm of formaldehyde for 90% of the three months of routine quality control testing data required under paragraph (a)(4) of this section.

(d) Products that meet the requirements specified under §770.17(c)(1) and (2) and have obtained exemption from the California Air Resources Board will also be exempt from the requirements in §§770.15, 770.20, and 770.40(b), as long as the requirements of the California Air Resources Board remain as stringent as EPA's requirements.

(e) After the two-year period of the initial exemption, and every two years thereafter, in order to continue to qualify for the exemption from the testing and certification requirements, the panel producer must reapply to an EPA TSCA Title VI TPC or to CARB and obtain at least one test result in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section that complies with the emission standards in paragraph (c)(1) of this section.

(f) Any time there is an operational or process change that is likely to affect formaldehyde emissions, such as a change in resin formulation, press cycle duration, temperature, or amount of resin used per panel, at least one quality control test under §770.20 and at least one test result in accordance with paragraph (a)(3) of this section that indicate compliance with the emission standards in paragraph (c)(1) of this section are required.

(g) A change in the resin system invalidates the exemption for any product produced with the different resin after such a change.

[81 FR 89724, Dec. 12, 2016, as amended at 83 FR 5347, Feb. 7, 2018; 84 FR 43524, Aug. 21, 2019]