The European Commission has established a new limit for the concentration of formaldehyde in the air of “living environments”. The regulation cuts the previous values by setting the limit to 0,062 mg/m3 for the emission of this substance considering, in particular, wood-based products and furniture as possible “sources” of formaldehyde.

The provision prescribes a new limit, which is exactly half the value indicated by the World Health Organisation (0.124 mg/m3), on which the well-known and consolidated E-1 classification is based. The E-1 is, up to now, not only the recognised standard of the sector, but it is also the reference class legally adopted by many European countries.

For the first time, the whole European wood and furniture sector must adopt a precise “rule” from the European authorities which, unlike the E-1 classification, must necessarily be applied by all European countries, involving also all products imported into the EU.

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