Data table · version 1.0 · Extracted from published sources
Formaldehyde emission limits for wood-based panels
What the European Union, the United States, China and California allow a wood-based panel to emit — ten thresholds from four regulatory schemes, each row citing the Finding and the document page it was taken from. These are product emission limits measured in a chamber, not guideline values for the air in a room.
What four regulatory schemes allow a wood-based panel to emit. Ten thresholds, each one taken from a verified Finding and traceable to a page in the document it came from.
This is the first Coridum table generated from the evidence layer rather than assembled by hand: every row carries the identifier of the Finding behind it, so the sentence the number came from can be read in full.
Two things to read before the numbers
Nothing here has been converted. Where a source prints both forms of a value, both are in the table. Where it prints one, the other cell is empty. An empty cell never means an estimate — it means the document does not give that form, and we did not invent it.
These are product emission limits, not room guidelines. Every value is what a panel or a finished article may release in a standardised chamber test. They say nothing directly about the concentration in a room, which depends on how much material is installed, how large the room is and how fast its air is exchanged. For the air itself, see the indoor air quality limits table, where the World Health Organization guideline for formaldehyde is 0.1 mg/m³ over 30 minutes.
Emission limits
| Jurisdiction | Scheme or class | Product | Value | As printed in mg/m³ | Test method | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Union | class E0.5 | wooden articles and furniture | 0.062 mg/m³ | 0.062 | chamber method EN 717-1 | F-0016 |
| European Union | class E1 | wood-based panels | 0.124 mg/m³ | 0.124 | chamber method EN 717-1 | F-0018 |
| United States | Toxic Substances Control Act, title VI | hardwood plywood, veneer or composite core | 0.05 ppm | 0.061 | large chamber ASTM E 1333 | F-0017 |
| United States | Toxic Substances Control Act, title VI | medium density fibreboard | 0.11 ppm | 0.135 | large chamber ASTM E 1333 | F-0017 |
| United States | Toxic Substances Control Act, title VI | thin medium density fibreboard | 0.13 ppm | 0.160 | large chamber ASTM E 1333 | F-0017 |
| United States | Toxic Substances Control Act, title VI | particleboard | 0.09 ppm | 0.111 | large chamber ASTM E 1333 | F-0017 |
| China | grade E0, upper bound | indoor wood-based panels | 0.050 mg/m³ | 0.050 | GB/T 39600-2021 | F-0018 |
| China | grade E0, lower bound | indoor wood-based panels | 0.025 mg/m³ | 0.025 | GB/T 39600-2021 | F-0018 |
| China | grade ENF | indoor wood-based panels | 0.025 mg/m³ | 0.025 | GB/T 39600-2021 | F-0019 |
| California | airborne toxic control measure (Air Resources Board) | medium density fibreboard core | 0.11 ppm | — | testing chamber | F-0020 |
Notes carried from the sources: the European class E0.5 is half of the class E1 limit and becomes compulsory from July 2026; the class E1 row also carries a content limit of 8 mg formaldehyde per 100 g of dry board, measured by the perforator method ISO 12460-5; the United States values are in force after 2018; the Chinese grade E0 covers emissions above 0.025 and not exceeding 0.050 mg/m³, and grade ENF is defined as equal to or lower than 0.025 mg/m³.
The California row deserves its own sentence
The Californian measure applies to the panel core, not to the finished flooring product, and fabricators of finished goods are not subject to third-party certification (F-0020). A floor sold as compliant may therefore rest on a core that was tested while the floor itself was not. This is the kind of gap that a table of numbers hides unless it is written out.
Notation
Values are given exactly as the source prints them, with the unit the source uses. The column As printed in mg/m³ is filled only where the source itself prints that form; it is not a conversion. Chemical names follow IUPAC; the chamber methods are named as in the source documents. In the CSV, units follow UCUM (mg/m3, ppm).
Version history
| Version | Date | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 | 8 September 2026 | First publication. Ten rows from five verified Findings (F-0016 to F-0020) in documents CKB 1163 and CKB 0257. |
Frequently asked questions
Is a panel that meets the class E1 limit safe in a room?
The table cannot answer that. A class limit says what one panel emits in a standard chamber test. What a room reaches depends on how much panel is in it and how fast the air is exchanged. The guideline for the air itself is a different number, in the indoor air quality limits table.
Why are some cells in ppm and others in mg·m⁻³?
Because that is how the source prints them. Where a document gives both forms, both are here; where it gives one, the other cell is left empty. Nothing in this table has been converted.
Does the California limit cover finished flooring?
No. It applies to the panel core. Fabricators of finished goods are not subject to third-party certification, so a floor made from a compliant core is not itself certified.
Sources
- Finding F-0016: “In 2023, the European Commission established a new class E0.5 with a maximum emission limit for formaldehyde in wooden articles and furniture at 0.062 mg·m−3 air (half of the emission limit of class E1), which will be introduced in a revised version of EN 13986:2004+A1:2015 and will become compulsory from July 2026 [35].” (CKB 1163, p. 6)
- Finding F-0017: “After 2018, formaldehyde emissions in WBP produced and/or circulating in the USA must not exceed 0.05 ppm (0.061 mg·m−3 air) for hardwood plywood panels produced with a veneer or composite core, 0.11 ppm (0.135 mg·m−3 air) for MDF, 0.13 ppm (0.160 mg·m−3 air) for thin MDF and 0.09 ppm (0.111 mg·m−3 air) for PB [37].” (CKB 1163, p. 6)
- Finding F-0018: “The Chinese E1 corresponds to the European E1 (0.124 mg·m−3 air), while the Chinese E0 refers to panels with formaldehyde emissions higher than 0.025 mg·m−3 air but not exceeding 0.050 mg·m−3 air.” (CKB 1163, p. 7)
- Finding F-0019: “Grade ENF is used to classify panels with formaldehyde emissions equal to or lower than 0.025 mg·m−3 air [39].” (CKB 1163, p. 7)
- Finding F-0020: “CARB has established a formaldehyde emission standard of 0.11 ppm for MDF cores, as measured using a testing chamber.” (CKB 0257, p. 3)
- Gonçalves et al. Wood-Based Panels and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs): An Overview on Production, Emission Sources and Analysis (2025). Molecules. doi:10.3390/molecules30153195 CKB 1163
- Pierce An assessment of formaldehyde emissions from laminate flooring manufactured in China… (2016). Regulatory toxicology and pharmacology : RTP. doi:10.1016/j.yrtph.2016.06.022 CKB 0257
CKB = document number in the Coridum Knowledge Base, our curated library of peer-reviewed studies. Follow the DOI for the original paper.
Cite this page
Coridum Research. Formaldehyde emission limits for wood-based panels (v1.0). Coridum Knowledge D-0004, 8 September 2026. https://coridum.com/k/D-0004/