A decidedly important 2024 for Catas, which has seen its role as a center of excellence in the wood-furniture sector reconfirmed at the international level –just in the last part of the 2024. Sandro Ciroi, the laboratory’s reference person for issues related to formaldehyde emission – was invited as a speaker to the thirteenth edition of the European Wood-based panel Symposium, held in Hamburg, where he presented a report that allowed the approximately 400 technicians, operators, scientists and entrepreneurs who arrived from all over the world to learn about the state of the art on the new limits set by the European Regulations in terms of formaldehyde emission.
The report – produced and presented four-handedly with Bettina Meyer, from the prestigious Fraunhofer WKI in Braunschweig – not only outlined the evolution of the relevant regulations, but turned the spotlight on the expected regulatory developments that will come into effect from August 2026 and that will reduce the “allowable” emissions by half compared to the current limit, bringing them down to 0.05 ppm (parts per million) or 0.062 milligrams per cubic meter.
A European Regulation that will not only affect wood-based panels but will progressively involve every other product that emits this substance, which is moreover “ubiquitous” in nature.
The two speakers also reminded those present that to date the European Chemicals Agency has not yet published the revised guidelines for measuring formaldehyde release, expected last October, a document essential for testing laboratories to properly attest compliance with the new regulations.
In anticipation of this indispensable “transition”, the Hamburg meeting – organized every two years by Fraunhofer WKI and EPF-European Panel Federation, in cooperation with the International Association for technical issues related to wood (iVTH) – saw the two technicians involved in a conversation that certainly made the challenging content offered to the audience “lighter.” They discussed the path leading to the new revision of the “formaldehyde chapter” contained in the European REACH regulation –“Registration, evaluation, authorization and restrictions of chemicals,” the register of all chemicals used on the continent with which restrictions may be associated – and which articles, goods and products are involved or excluded.
Bettina Meyer and SANDRO CIROI
Ciroi and Meyer then reminded those present of the existence of a voluntary working group made up of the most important European laboratories in the wood-furniture sector, committed to drawing up a “Position Paper” thanks to which it will be possible to define all the technical specifications not present in the regulation, so as to enable the harmonization of testing activities in the different countries, to the benefit of companies that use wood-based panels, which will thus be able to compare themselves with a certain scenario.
Bettina Meyer and Sandro Ciroi concluded their contribution by trying to imagine, on the basis of their studies and expertise, what the dictate of regulations to safeguard consumer protection might be in the future, obviously regarding the formaldehyde content of products, a topic that has always been at the attention of legislators.
Catas is a joint stock company whose shareholders are the Pordenone-Udine Chamber of Commerce, FederlegnoArredo Eventi, Banca di Cividale, Confindustria Udine, Aial-Italian Association of Wood Craftsmen, Cna-National Confederation of Como Craftsmen, Association of Small and Medium Industries of Friuli Venezia Giulia-Confapi FVG, and Confartigianato Udine. The “headquarters” in San Giovanni al Natisone (Udine) has been joined over the years by the Catas Brianza office in Lissone (Monza Brianza) and the Catas Point in Pesaro.
