The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) has approved revised national voluntary standards for ANSI A208.1- 2009 Particleboard and ANSI A208.2-2009 MDF for Interior Applications. Sponsored by the Composite Panel Association (CPA), the standards include new grades and product categories as well as harmonization with the formaldehyde emission ceilings and other requirements recently enacted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

“After a multi-year initiative, these standards were approved using consensus procedures of due process, openness and balanced participation of interested stakeholders. More than 120 organizations were invited to participate in the revision process, including panel producers, customers, government, academia and research institutions,” said Gary Heroux, CPA’s Vice President of Product Acceptance. “The standards provide an excellent example of the composite panel industry’s commitment to producing high quality, safe products that meet today’s market demands.”

Highlights of the changes include incorporating the California Air Resources Board’s Air Toxic Control Measure Phase 1 and Phase 2 formaldehyde emission limits. In addition, the strength properties have been converted to a 5th percentile (lower or minimum value) or a 95th (upper or maximum value) single panel percentile expression. Prior to the 2009 standards, the property values in both standards represented a five panel average. The property tables now represent the minimum or maximum property value for a “single” panel with 95 percent confidence. The 95 percent level is common for wood based products due to inherit natural variability of wood. The conversion from a five panel average to single panel percentile limit harmonizes the standard with international wood products standards and is more user friendly to engineers and designers.

These revised voluntary standards supersede ANSI A208.1-1999 Particleboard and ANSI A208.2-2002 MDF for Interior Applications. These standards became effective in February for all non-building code products. Note that ANSI A208.1-2009 Table B contains the grades that are referenced by the building codes. The CPA will submit the 2009 Particleboard standard to the US and Canadian building code organizations for adoption; however, code revision cycles can take 2-3 years until final publication. Particleboard underlayment, manufactured home decking and stair tread products will continue to reference the 1999 ANSI Particleboard Standard until the building codes are updated. While the standards became effective in February, stakeholders should appreciate that a several month transition period is practical for inventories and corresponding references to be implemented.

CPA has developed a User’s Guide to assist with understanding the numerous major revisions to each standard. The eight page User’s Guide includes a statement of purpose, an overview of significant changes, a section on understanding what the property values represent, effective date and implementation considerations as well as an example of the statistical calculations.

The revised standards and User’s Guide are now available in the publications section of CPA’s web site www.pbmdf.com.