A new state law limiting a cancer-causing chemical from plywood and particle board -- products found in almost every home or business -- has lumber wholesalers worried that they will get stuck with millions of dollars' worth of products that can't be sold in California. With new construction at nearly a standstill and inventories moving slowly, wood industry representatives have asked the state for more time to sell off stockpiled products. So far, the state hasn't budged. At issue is formaldehyde, a common ingredient in the glues that bind plywood layers as well as the bits of wood in particle and fiber boards -- products used to make cabinets, countertops, desktops, coffee tables, floors, wall panels and bathroom vanities among other furnishings. The California Air Resources Board approved the composite-wood rule last year, a step the agency says will cut formaldehyde emissions in the state by 500 tons a year -- eliminating an estimated 3,400 cases of cancer statewide. It is one of many rules that target a particular product line -- from hairspray to ship fuel -- in the state's long effort to reduce air pollution. Wayne Nunnally, purchasing and sales manager of Peterman Lumber Inc. in Fontana, said the new regulation, effective Jan. 1, 2009, doesn't give hundreds of businesses enough time to sell off existing stock. The wood must be certified where it is manufactured, and so far, certified wood has not arrived from overseas mills. Although the current products might meet the new standard, they won't have the necessary certification to be sold in California, Nunnally said. "We are in favor of reducing air pollution, but we want to make it so we don't get killed," he said. "We might have to dump it and lose money because of the inventory." Hundreds of wholesalers are affected, an industry representative said, and those companies supply thousands of cabinetmakers and other craftsmen, contractors and retailers. Nunnally and other suppliers said there are not enough inspectors available to certify wood products at mills around the world, especially in Asia. "They are not set up," Nunnally said. "We need to comply, yes, but give us more time." A coalition of importers and suppliers want wood they acquire before Jan. 1 to be exempt from the rules for a year. They sought help in the spring from state Sen. Dennis Hollingsworth, R-Murrieta, who met with state air board officials. The state officials were not receptive, said Gerrit Buddingh, the state senator's spokesman. Starting Jan. 1, importers will have three months to sell their noncertified wood, and distributors will have six months Jim Aguila, an air board manager who oversaw the rule's development, said the lumber industry has had ample time to prepare. The rule was approved more than a year ago and has been five years in the making. Nevertheless, air board officials plan to meet with importers within a month to hear their concerns, Aguila said in a telephone interview. The rule will prod wood-product manufacturers that want California's business to use readily available alternative glues, he said. It will allow the state to catch up with Japan and the European Union, which already regulate formaldehyde. Because California is such a large marketplace, the rules already are shaping national and global standards. "It is essentially, de facto, a national standard," said Curt Alt, a spokesman for the Composite Panel Association, a Virginia-based national trade group. E-mail David Danelski ddanelski(at)PE.com(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
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