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APPLICATION OF POLLUTION PREVENTION TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE INDOOR AIR EMISSIONS FROM ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS
Citation:
Brockmann, C., L. Sheldon*, D. Whitaker, AND J. N. Baskir. APPLICATION OF POLLUTION PREVENTION TECHNIQUES TO REDUCE INDOOR AIR EMISSIONS FROM ENGINEERED WOOD PRODUCTS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/R-98/146 (NTIS PB99-118309), 1998.
Impact/Purpose:
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Description:
The report gives results of an investigation of pollution prevention options to reduce indoor emissions from a type of finished engineered wood. Emissions were screened from four types of finished engineered wood: oak-veneered particleboard coated and cured with a heat-curable, acid-catalyzed alkyd-urea sealer and topcoat; oak-veneered hardboard coated and cured with a stain and a heat-curable, acid-catalyzed alkyd-urea sealer and topcoat; particleboard overlaid with vinyl; and particleboard overlaid with melamine. Within the scope of the emissions and performance tests of the study, three types of coatings were found to have significantly lower emission factors of summed volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and formaldehyde relative to those for the heat-curable, acid-catalyzed alkyd-urea coatings: a two-component waterborne polyurethane, an ultraviolet (UV)-curable acrylate, and a UV-and-heat-curable multi-functional acrylate-free emulsion. Three types of engineered fiber panels were identified as having significantly lower emission factors of summed VOCs and formaldehyde relative to those for particleboard: medium-density fiberboard made with methylene diisocynate (MDI), a wheatboard panel made with MDI resin, and a panel made from recycled corrugated cardboard. All three fiber panels are in the market place.