Continued from FindAnyFloor's Article titled Formaldehyde Emission Standards for Green Adhesives

CARB stands for the California Air Resources Board, which is a division of the California Environmental Protection Agency. CARB is being released in two phases, the first which went into effect January 1, 2009 and the second which will go into effect on January 1, 2010.

CARB Phase 1 requires adhesives to have formaldehyde emissions that are equal to or less than 0.08 ppm (parts per million). These standards well exceed the formaldehyde emission standards set forth by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the U.S. American National Standards Institute (ANSI), as well as European E1 emission standards.

Once CARB Phase 2 is released, the adhesive formaldehyde emission standards in California will fall to a more stringent 0.05 ppm, which exceed both E1 and E0 Formaldehyde emission standards for green adhesives.

When choosing engineered hardwood flooring, laminate floors, or bamboo floors that contain formaldehyde adhesives, I recommend that you choose floors that meet CARB Phase 1 emission standards, or more preferably CARB Phase 2. You can also choose those that meet Japanese F**** standards which is discussed in the last blog in this series titled Japanese JIS/JAS Formaldehyde Adhesive Emission Standards.