Formaldehyde emission monitoring from a variety of solid wood, plywood, blockboard and flooring products manufactured for building and furnishing materials

The measurements of formaldehyde emission (FE) from solid wood, plywood, flooring and blockboard used for building and furnishing materials were obtained using the European small-scale chamber (EN 717-1) and gas analysis (EN 717-2) methods to identify the major sources of formaldehyde among construction and wood products in the Czech Republic. The differences in the FE values reported for various wood products were a function of their structural differences. These results showed that the wood species, plywood type and thickness significantly affected the FE measured by EN 717-2 (P<0.001). The FE values from solid wood ranged between 0.0068 and 0.0036 ppm and 0.084-0.014 mg/m(2) h. The initial FE ranged from 0.006 mg/m(3) for engineered flooring with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc) to 0.048 mg/m(3) for painted birch blockboard. Furthermore, the FE dropped noticeably by the end of the measuring period, ranging between 0.006 mg/m(3) for engineered flooring with PVAc and 0.037 mg/m(3) for painted beech blockboard. Additionally, the initial FE was higher for the painted blockboard (0.035-0.048 mg/m(3)) than for the uncoated boards (0.022-0.032 mg/m(3)). In the first week after manufacturing, the FE was high, but the decrease in FE was noticeable at the two-week measurement for all of the materials, especially for the painted blockboards. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.