National Hardwood Magazine - November 2016

AHEC REPORT AHEC Has

AHEC REPORT AHEC Has Commissioned An Update To Our Groundbreaking “Seneca Creek” Risk Assessment Study On U.S. Hardwoods And Illegal Logging In order to ensure the continued accuracy of information contained in the Seneca Creek study, AHEC understands that it is essential that the study is regularly reviewed in the light of changes in forest policy, regulation, forest management, and monitoring in Hardwood producing areas of the United States. Overseas buyers of U.S. Hardwoods, regulators and other interests such as trade associations, NGOs, and specifiers are increasingly requesting that an update of the report be conducted and new and relevant information provided. Since 2008 there have also been major developments in international and domestic policies, regulations and codes relating to the assessment and verification of legal and sustainable forestry practices raising issues amongst these same interests on the scope of the original study and of the procedures used for analysis. AHEC’s decision to commission the original study in 2008 was a response to the rising level of political concern over the level of illegal wood entering international trade. This meant that environmental timber procurement policy had become a priority in several key export markets for American Hardwoods, particularly in Northwestern Europe and Japan. Government procurement officers in these countries increasingly required that wood, at minimum, derived from verified legal sources and preferably from verified sustainable sources. AHEC recognized early on that the move to develop timber procurement policies in several countries represented a clear trend: the presumption of legality in producer countries was no longer felt to be reliable, and demonstrable “legality” of products was emerging as a minimum standard in both the public and private sector in the world’s largest markets. In response to these trends the study aimed to facilitate U.S. Hardwoods continuing market access by providing a credible third party assessment of the risk of illegal and unsustainable practices with respect to U.S. Hardwood exports. The Seneca Creek study has become an integral and essential component of AHEC’s communication strategy 14 NOVEMBER 2016 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE in export markets. It forms the third pillar of this strategy alongside the data on U.S. Hardwood forest growth and yield derived from the USDA Forest Inventory Analysis (FIA) program and on wider environmental impacts of supplying U.S. Hardwoods into export markets provided by the ISO-conformant Life Cycle Assessment studies, also commissioned by AHEC. The importance of the Seneca Creek study has increased since its publication with the proliferation of policy measures and laws in timber consuming countries designed to eradicate trade in illegally harvested wood. Encouraged by U.S. adoption of the Lacey Act Amendment in May 2008, the EU introduced similar legislation through the EU Timber Regulation (EUTR) which has been enforceable since March 3, 2013. During development of EUTR, AHEC was able to draw on the Seneca Creek study in highlighting the value of a “risk-based” approach to prevent market access for illegally harvested wood, particularly when dealing with products from non-industrial forest owners or composite products for which it is not possible to trace fiber back to specific forest management units. AHEC’s communication on this issue, greatly strengthened by the example of the Seneca Creek study, was at least partly responsible for ensuring that the risk-based approach is embedded within the EUTR. EUTR expressly does not require traceability to sub-national regions if negligible risk of illegal harvest can be established at national level. The Seneca Creek study is the single most important document ensuring widespread recognition that U.S. Hardwood meets this requirement. BY MICHAEL S. SNOW, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, AMERICAN HARDWOOD EXPORT COUNCIL, RESTON, VA 703-435-2900 WWW.AHEC.ORG Please turn to page 44

NWFA FLOORING REVIEW Wood: The Most Environmentally Friendly Option Available After a 60 Minutes investigative report aired last March about flooring imports from China, formaldehyde became a household word for many Americans. The report was scathing, and accused that Lumber Liquidators was knowingly importing laminated flooring products into the United States that had formaldehyde levels more than 10 times the legal limit. These limits are established by the California Air Resources Board, an organization that regulates and monitors volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions. It is important to note that formaldehyde is a naturally occurring organic compound. It is present in all living things, including human beings. Formaldehyde also is a result of the oxidation or combustion process. It forms as a result of forest fires, it is a by-product of automobile exhaust, and it is produced from tobacco smoke, just to name a few examples. Formaldehyde also can be man-made, and is used for a wide variety of industrial purposes. In the flooring industry, formaldehyde is most commonly used as a compound in finishes, stains and, in the case of laminated flooring products, adhesives. Despite the fact that it is a naturally occurring substance, in large amounts, formaldehyde can be highly toxic. It has been linked to cancer and leukemia in humans, and is known to cause a variety of short-term human ailments, including eye, nasal, and throat irritation, restricted pulmonary function, and even reduced reproductive health. For these reasons, the 60 Minutes report frightened many flooring consumers, and certainly caused many others to inquire about the flooring in their own homes. VOCs are an area of significant concern for many consumers. VOCs contribute to smog and are a huge cause of global warming, so regulating them is an area of importance in preserving our environment. In the United States, there are a variety of laws in effect that are designed to control VOC emissions. The most widely known, and the most restrictive, is the California Air Resources Board (CARB). The regulation that was referenced in the 60 Minutes report is CARB Phase 2 Compliance. CARB Phase 2 affects composite wood products, and affects three wood product categories: Hardwood plywood, particleboard and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Laminated flooring products can include one or more of these wood products categories, and therefore, must be compliant with CARB Phase 2. CARB Phase 2 caps formaldehyde emissions at .05 parts per million (ppm). For products manufactured in the United States, this is a highly regulated process, and violations are rarely reported. Other countries, however, are not held to same regulatory standards as products manufactured in the United States. In addition, as was reported in the 60 Minutes exposé, other countries are aware of the U.S. regulations, stamp their products as being compliant with the regulations, and openly admit that the products are not compliant at all. To illustrate this issue, there was a case filed recently in which a third-party company had purchased 150 boxes of laminated flooring products from big box stores manufactured both in the United States and in China. Of the products tested, all of the products manufactured in the United States were compliant for having formaldehyde emissions that were within acceptable levels based on CARB Phase 2 regulations. The same was not true for the products tested that were manufactured in China. On average, the emissions levels were six times the legal limit for CARB Phase 2, while some tested as high as 20 times the legal limit. When 60 Minutes investigators purchased and sent their own products for testing, only one box of product they purchased that was manufactured in China was CARB Phase 2 compliant. The rest were, on average, more than 13 times the legal limit. Needless to say, long-term exposure to products such as these can pose serious health risks. BY BRETT MILLER, DIRECTOR OF CERTIFICATION & EDUCATION, NATIONAL WOOD FLOORING ASSOCIATION, CHESTERFIELD, MO 800-422-4556 (USA AND CANADA) 636-519-9663 (INTERNATIONAL) WWW.NWFA.ORG Please turn to page 45 NOVEMBER 2016 n NATIONAL HARDWOOD MAGAZINE 15