According to the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (Bundesministerium für Umwelt, Naturschutz und nukleare Sicherheit, BMU), starting from January 1, 2020, the new EN 16516 standard will be the reference method for the German market, both for analytical method and sampling, for the determination of formaldehyde emission from raw and coated wood products.
The threshold limit remains numerically the same that is already in force for the emission class E1 (0.1 ppm) but the analytical procedure of the new formaldehyde measurement method, now introduced in Germany, completely change the situation. The higher loading factor and the reduced air exchange compared to the current EN 717-1 standard, determine that the panels must have a much lower emission. For some types of panels, the emission level is even lower than the limits prescribed by the American CARB P2 and TSCA Title VI standards.
The new German law allows to continue to use the method described by the standard EN 717-1 (European Chamber) multiplying by two the concentration value of formaldehyde measured at the steady state. Therefore, considering this analytical possibility, it is evident that the panels for the German market will have to be produced with an emission level equal to the half of the current E1 limit.
The following testing methods are valid until 31 December 2019: