Klobuchar wants tougher rules for formaldehyde

Sen. Amy Klobuchar stumped for tougher laws on wood products Friday, and the reaction from local forest industry players might not be what you’d expect.

They responded to her call for stricter rules not with protest but with vocal support.

Klobuchar, D-Minn., recently introduced a bill with Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, that would limit the amount of formaldehyde that can be used in composite wood products sold in the U.S.

Establishing a national standard would help level the playing field, enabling domestic

producers to more effectively compete with

cheaper formaldehyde-laden imports.

Klobuchar described her proposal during a visit to Duluth on Friday.

Formaldehyde has long been used as an

adhesive and bonding agent in composite wood products such as particleboard, oriented strand board and plywood. But at room temperature, the chemical releases gases that, at high concentrations, can produce nausea, headaches and a

burning sensation in the eyes and nose.

The chemical was implicated when many Hurricane Katrina survivors became sick while living in temporary housing provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and has been listed as a “probable human carcinogen.”

The state of California already has moved to place caps on the amount of formaldehyde that may be contained in composite wood products, and Klobochar’s bill would put similar limits in place nationwide, applying the same standard to both domestic and imported goods.

Most domestic producers of composite wood products already comply with California’s requirements, according to Wayne Brandt, executive vice president of Minnesota Forest Industries, a trade association. But Klobuchar said many foreign producers of composite wood products aren’t playing by the same rules.

“It’s a double standard,” she said. “Foreign

producers are taking advantage of the situation by dumping cheaper materials into our market that are loaded with formaldehyde.”

Steve Twining, manager of Louisiana-Pacific Corp.’s mill in Two Harbors, said his facility now produces wood composites exclusively using Rubinate, a formaldehyde-free binder, to address health concerns.

“We use an expensive binder. Otherwise, we could buy a cheap formaldehyde binder and be in the same boat as foreign producers,” Twining said.

Twining pointed out that even though Louisiana-Pacific introduces no formaldehyde, it can’t completely eliminate the naturally occurring chemical from its products. Formaldehyde is a natural off-gas of aspen wood, he said.

Klobuchar acknowledged that some formaldehyde always will be present in composite wood products, but she said that by 2012, her bill would reduce permissible formaldehyde emissions to

0.9 parts per million, giving the U.S. “the toughest standards in the world.” She said her proposed law would cut formaldehyde emissions by about 60 percent from current levels.

As for enforcement, Klobuchar said the Environmental Protection Agency would work with U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials to spot-check foreign products crossing the border.

“This legislation would require the imports to meet the same standards that we are,” said Scott Dane, executive director of Associated Contract Loggers and Truckers, a supporter of the bill.

Klobuchar said foreign wood composites now control an estimated 80 percent of the domestic market, with China alone providing 55 percent of the national supply.