CARB and ECO-Certified

Erika, I checked with Brent, our expert here on composite wood, and we think your instincts are right—the product may comply with LEED, but the documentation isn't enough to show it.

On the LEED V4 low emitting materials page, the credit language seems to have relaxed to include ULEF per the CARB code. Can someone confirm if this language would retroactively apply to 2009 projects?

http://www.usgbc.org/node/2614095?view=language

Composite Wood Evaluation. Composite wood, as defined by the California Air Resources Board, Airborne Toxic Measure to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulation, must be documented to have low formaldehyde emissions that meet the California Air Resources Board ATCM for formaldehyde requirements for ultra-low-emitting formaldehyde (ULEF) resins or no added formaldehyde resins.

Any response for Nick's question above? We just had this come through for a product on our project, too. The subcontractor is claiming it is compliant b/c it passed CARB, but we aren't convinced for a 2009 NC project.

Emily, I never got a response. You could try submitting a question to the USGBC, but would potentially have to wait weeks for an answer. You could also ask the contractor to submit a letter from the USGBC confirming that their product meets the 2009 NC credit requirements.

It would be great to get a definitive answer to this important question! Nick, Emily any updates on how it worked out to GBCI? I am seeing much conflicting info on various pieces.

The first - The precise definition of ULEF...Brent states - 0.05ppm...Another source has it at 0.09ppm... the table on page 7 of this CARB doc: www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/compwood07/fro-final.pdf tells me that is depends on whether it is particle board, mdf, or plywood... Is this table the definitive source that other are using?

The second - is a long struggle to find a EU cabinet manufacturer that can meet IEQ4.4....I have been working with Poliform and they appear to have figured out a complaint substrate, the IDROLEB PB panel: http://www.grupposaviola.com/wp-content/uploads/GR-06-Grezzo-IDROLEB-Rev... Has anyone else used this to LEED credit success?

Hello Jennifer - USGBC posted some allowable credit substitutions so that LEED 2009 projects may utilize LEED v4 credits. Here's the link to that info http://www.usgbc.org/articles/new-leed-v4-credit-substitutions-2009-proj...
Scroll down the page and for BD+C projects (ID+C and Retail also) they will allow Low-Emitting Materials credit support to substitute for LEED 2009 IEQc4.4. Specifically, they mention the Composite Wood Evaluation. For clarification, products that meet this new criteria must utilize CARB approved ULEF or NAF resins (not just CARB Phase 2 certified).

Hi Dawn,

Thanks for you reply. My questions has to do with the specifics of the CARB Language. In the CARB documentation, the definition of ULEF is not singular but particular to the medium (plywood, mdf, partcileboard) I was curious if there was push back from GBCi to this level of detail or if the ULEF of 0.05 (Brent specifies above) stands for all mediums....

The ULEF target and cap are different depending on the type of composite wood product. The particulars are shown in Table 2 of the regulation Section 93120.3 (d) (1) Special provisions for manufacturers of hardwood plywood, particleboard and MDF with ULEF resins.
There is also a ULEF cap value of 0.05 ppm for HWPW and 0.06 ppm for PB, MDF if manufacturers are applying for a ULEF Exemption. This link will take you to the ARB page where you can download the final regulation. This info is found on pg 11-12. https://www.arb.ca.gov/toxics/compwood/compwood.htm
I hope this is helpful.

hmmm.....when I click through to the federal register site it says "this page no longer exists".... Perhaps a Trump Admin deletion. :(

Thank you Dawn,

Ok, so for LEED V4 purposes the requirement is to simply be CARB ULEF or NAF. The specific limits of which are:

hardwood: 0.05 ppm
particleboard and MDF: 0.06 ppm

Hi Jennifer,

Pardon my tardiness and for any confusion the older article caused. I have updated it to reflect the April 1, 2013 revision.

That article was originally written because of the confusion over urea being used to scavenge excess formaldehyde in melamine formaldehyde composite wood products, but because of this I think it introduced some confusion of its own.

As noted in the comments, the required ppm to meet ULEF criteria varies depending on the composite wood product (as it did for CARB Phases 1&2). For particleboard, the ULEF target is 0.05 ppm (90% of the tests have to be <0.05 ppm) and the max/cap is 0.08. For MDF it is 0.06 ppm target/0.09 ppm cap. Manufacturers can also get a ULEF exemption if their products test consistently at a target 0.04 ppm, with a max of 0.06 ppm for both particleboard and MDF. So if you find a product with that ULEF exemption they have demonstrated those lower emissions (which also saves the manufacturer $ through reduced testing and paperwork requirements).

It looks as though you have found what you are looking for (and that old CARB link was no help), but if you want specifics, all the CARB/ULEF nuances can be found here https://www.arb.ca.gov/regact/2007/compwood07/fro-final.pdf. The CARB table is on page 7 and the ULEF table is on page 12.

Hope this is still useful!

Best,
Brent