UF (Urea Formaldehyde) In Building Materials

[Hausdok]

Hi All,

In another thread, Dick Siebert posted some information about how the State of California is apparently looking at classifying building materials that contain urea formaldehyde (UFFI) as hazardous. I hope that Dick will cut and paste that post to this thread, so some discussion on the topic can continue here.

In the meantime, I'm posting links below to pdf and html versions of one of the Carson-Dunlop Reports concerning UFFI.

For those of you who don't know, Carson-Dunlop and Associates, a Canadian firm, is one of the oldest full-blown home inspection companies in the business, and is one of the most professional and most respected. Alan Carson was one of the early presidents of ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors). C-D has done a lot of research into many topics of interest to home inspectors and provides some of the best training materials in the business through Dearborn Publishing, Kaplan and ITA. Their report graphics CD Rom is one of the most useful tools for report illustration available and many home inspectors refer their clients to the Carson Dunlop Reports when they have a questions about various topics such as mold, lead or urea formaldehyde in building materials.


George Roberts will love the fact that C-D began as a firm whose inspectors were all engineers, but probably deplore the fact that they eventually recognized that the realities of the profession don't require all of the education that an engineer has, but in some ways require inspectors to have an even wider focus than engineers, and now C-D hires non-engineers as well as fully-licensed engineers.

Dick and others that commented, please move your posts related to UFFI over here so I can keep that other thread on track. Thank you.


Here are the Carson-Dunlop UFFI Report links:

http://www.carsondunlop.com/RealEstate/pdf/uffi.pdf

http://www.carsondunlop.com/RealEstate/uffi.htm


ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[Joe Carola]

Dick,

I never knew that the web on I-joists contained formaldehyde. That's just great!

Should we be cutting this garbage with masks on along with cutting this ACQ garbage? God knows what else is in this stuff.

I'm glad that you brought this up Dick because I didn't know this.

[David Meiland]

Joe, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I don't think you have anything to be worried about re working with I joists. You are doing a minimum of cutting of the material in question, you are working in the open air, and the biggie is that you're not living in the house. I would be more concerned about (a) what UFFI materials you have in your own house (where you spend more than twice as much time than at work), or (b) working in a plant that manufactures UFFI-containing materials. Also, I don't believe a dust mask would do much, since the chemical gets in the air without being carried there by dust. If you go in a warehouse full of units of particleboard there will probably be a lot of formaldehyde floating around even if no one is cutting anything.

[Hausdok]

Yeah,

That, and think about the C-D report. Are you a smoker? Do you hang out around smokers? If so, you're exposed to more UFFI from a cigarette or new carpeting than that from building materials after 3 weeks or so.

I don't get California. They've fought plastic pipe for years, yet lots and lots of foods and drink are packaged in the same type of plastics.

I always get a kick out of the furnaces I see with the sticker on them that says something like, "This furnace has fiberglass materials and this has been determined to be a health hazard in the State of California," or words to that effect. Sort of like the warning on a pack of cigarettes. Whew! Glad I'm not in California where I'm exposed to that darned unhealty insulation. :-0

So why is it that only the State of California has determined that? Do Californians have super powers that can detect this stuff when the CDC and others say it doesn't? It's kind of loopy if you ask me. Oh, that's right. Nobody did.

Anyway, I don't live down there, so I guess they've got a right to make it a health hazard if they want to. Besides, we've got the Hanford supersite for our bragging rights. Anyone want a third eye?

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[prairieHOUSE]

Just an observation so we can make sure we are all on the same page:

I believe we are specifically discussing "formaldehyde" - a gas/compound used in polymers and resins in many products, and not "UFFI", which is short for Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation.

Sorry if I'm splitting hairs!

Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration

[Dick Seibert]

Post moved:

I think the most important thing Mike, and every Home Inspector, should be notifying their customers about is the fact that I joists contain flakeboard, a known carcinogen, and that California is taking steps to either outlaw it or force the manufacturers to eliminate the carcinogens:

Composite wood products contain formaldehyde, which is a known human carcinogen. Formaldehyde is also designated as a toxic air contaminant (TAC) in California with no safe level of exposure, and state law requires ARB to take action to reduce human exposure to TACs. In addition, formaldehyde has non-cancer effects, such as eye, nose, and respiratory irritation. Formaldehyde exposure has also been linked to the exacerbation of asthma in formaldehyde-sensitive individuals, and possibly other asthmatics. Formaldehyde is emitted from composite wood products into the air from new
home construction; remodeling construction; truck, rail, and ship transportation; lumberyards; and through windows, doors, and ventilation systems in homes and other buildings.¹

It's interesting that the formaldehyde could be eliminated for a lousy $2 a sheet!

We estimate that a 4-foot by 8-foot panel of particleboard could increase in price from a current average of about $7.00 per panel to about $9.00.¹

On Monday, the 23rd, the California Air Resources board met to adopt a draft report phasing out all engineered wood products (as currently formulated) by 2012.

Here is the draft report as presented for adoption, I haven't heard what modifications they have made, I suppose that will be out within the coming month.

Apparently this situation is serious enough that Weyerhaeuser, who recently bought TrussJoist, has divested itself of all of it's composite products by selling off to Flakeboard . BTW, the official name of the engineered wood products is now Flakeboard, which is what carpenters have been calling it all along.


¹ http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/compwoo...heetjuly06.pdf

[Hausdok]

Just an observation so we can make sure we are all on the same page:

I believe we are specifically discussing "formaldehyde" - a gas/compound used in polymers and resins in many products, and not "UFFI", which is short for Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation.

Sorry if I'm splitting hairs!

Gio
prairieHOUSE Restoration

Yes, alleged issue is the formaldehyde in UFFI and in other building materials. My bad. I gotta stop calling it that. How about we call it UF instead? It's a whole lot easier than spelling it.

OT - OF!!!

M.

[Bill Robinson]

(a) Purpose. The purpose of this airborne toxic control measure is to reduce
formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products that are sold, supplied,
offered for sale, used, or manufactured for sale in California. The composite
wood products covered by this regulation are particleboard, medium density
fiberboard, hardwood plywood, and finished goods or products made from these materials.

And NOT all engineered wood products.
Bill R

[Dick Seibert]

The goal is to eventually include all composite wood products, they are starting with products exposed to the air like particleboard, OSB is generally sealed up in buildings:

Composite wood products
Huntsman pioneered the development of polyurethane binders and adhesives for the manufacture of composite wood products - an exciting and fast-growing market.

Our RUBINATE® Binders are used to produce composite wood products from renewable forest resources. Our customers use these binders to efficiently convert trees and wood waste into high quality, durable products for demanding applications in construction, flooring, and packaging. We were instrumental in the first production of oriented strandboard (OSB) and medium density fiberboard (MDF) with this new binding technology.

We have developed new technology for the production of engineered wood adhesive systems including I-joist and structural finger joined lumber. Huntsman's polyurethane adhesive systems allow the engineered lumber producer to improve productivity and process efficiency.

We have a solid history in the development of new products, services and technologies which can help increase our customers' profitability. Our goal is to be the most respected and desired provider of innovative composite wood technologies.¹

Formaldehyde is emitted from composite wood products into the air from new
home construction; remodeling construction; truck, rail, and ship transportation; lumberyards; and
through windows, doors, and ventilation systems in homes and other buildings.²

¹ www.huntsman.com/pu/index.cfm?PageID=92
² http://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/compwoo...heetjuly06.pdf

[charles]

I'm not so worried about the I-joists, but are there any brands of OSB and plywood that don't contain formaldehyde?

[Dick Seibert]

There is one made with soy, but there is supposed to be a grade stamp showing lower toxicity. I joists are the biggest concern because of HVAC ducting and cold air returns. We had a jerk here who was using unlined I joists as his cold air return, when the entire household fell ill he disappeared.

[SolarPowered]

I have read in the past that plywood is bonded with a different adhesive than is used with OSB, and that the adhesive used in plywood doesn't emit formaldehyde, but the one used in OSB does.

Can anyone confirm or deny this?

[dougloates]

Good afternoon all,

I read through the posts on this topic with amazement at the misunderstanding there is out there on formaldehyde in wood products.

First of all, I need to tell you that I am the Technical Director for Weyerhaeuser's Strand Technologies business. I have responsibility for our OSB product - Structurwood and our Parallel Strand Lumber product - Timberstrand.

Next, I know of no OSB on the market that is bonded with the Urea Formaldehyde resins discussed in the thread. These binders are used in composite products such as particleboard and MDF - NOT OSB or Timberstrand. Structurwood and TimberStrand products are bonded with phenol formaldehyde or Isocyanate binders, very different than Urea Formaldehyde resins.

Why don’t phenol formaldehyde or MDI resins emit formaldehyde?
MDI resins do not contain formaldehyde. Phenol formaldehyde does; however, unlike urea formaldehyde resins, the formaldehyde in phenol formaldehyde is chemically linked to the phenol after the resin sets. As a result, cured phenol resin emits only insignificant amounts of formaldehyde. During the heat and pressure of the hot press operation the phenol formaldehyde cures into a dark rigid plastic that will not break down even in adverse conditions. Because of this stability, products bonded with phenol formaldehyde resin are exempt from all the testing, certification and labeling requirements of HUD regulations.

What is the level of formaldehyde emissions from Structurwood OSB?
It is less than 0.10 parts per million (ppm). The OSB manufactured by Weyerhaeuser® is bonded with either phenol formaldehyde or polymeric MDI (isocyanate) adhesives or a combination of the two. Independent third-party testing shows that products manufactured with these adhesives do not emit significant amounts of formaldehyde. When tested in accordance with the ASTM large chamber test, formaldehyde emissions from OSB were under 0.10 ppm, which is below even the most stringent regulatory requirements. In fact, emissions were so low that they could not be distinguished from the background level of formaldehyde in the fresh air used during the testing.

Can formaldehyde emissions build up to dangerous levels in a home?
This is unlikely. Although new homes contain many sources that emit formaldehyde—drapes, upholstered furniture, latex paint, carpet, and other items—the rate of formaldehyde emissions from these products decreases quite rapidly during the first 30 days.

As you now know, OSB, LSL and other wood products bonded with phenolic or isocyanate binders are not the products in question in the California action. These are Urea Formaldehyde resins used in most particleboard and MDF. OSB is typically used in I-joists as the web material and does not significantly or measurably contribute to formaldehyde emissions.

Thanks for your time.

Doug Loates
Technical Director, iLevel Strand Technologies
Weyerhaeuser

[Bill Robinson]

Good info Doug thanks, every once in a while we get something based on the truth and it is golden.

It is the truth, isn't it?
Bill R

[David Meiland]

So why is Dick mentioning a guy who used open chases between I-joists as part of an HVAC system, and a major health problem apparently resulting from this?