On 17 July 2023, the European Commission published Regulation (EU) 2023/1464 to amend Annex XVII to the EU REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006. The new Entry 77 on formaldehyde (CAS No. 50-00-0) released from furniture, articles and interior of road vehicles, shall be added in Annex XVII. The amendment shall enter into force on 6 August 2023 and apply after 6 August 2026.

The restriction is as follows:

1. Shall not be placed on the market in articles, after 6 August 2026, if, under the test conditions specified in Appendix 14, the concentration of formaldehyde released from those articles exceeds:

1. 0.062 mg/m³ for furniture and wood-based articles;
2. 0.080 mg/m³ for articles other than furniture and wood-based articles.

The above restrictions shall not apply to:

1. articles in which formaldehyde or formaldehyde releasing substances are exclusively naturally present in the materials from which the articles are produced;
2. articles that are exclusively for outdoor use under foreseeable conditions;
3. articles in constructions, that are exclusively used outside the building shell and vapour barrier and that do not emit formaldehyde into indoor air;
4. articles exclusively for industrial or professional use unless formaldehyde released from them leads to exposure of the general public under foreseeable conditions of use;
5. articles for which the restriction laid down in Entry 72 of Annex XVII to REACH Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 applies;
6. articles that are biocidal products within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 528/2012;
7. devices within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2017/745;
8. personal protective equipment within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2016/425;
9. articles intended to come into contact directly or indirectly with food within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 1935/2004;
10. second-hand articles.

According to Appendix 14, the formaldehyde released from articles shall be measured in the air of a test chamber, with specified test conditions:

1. Temperature: (23 ± 0.5) °C;
2. Relative humidity: (45 ± 3)%;
3. Loading factor: (1 ± 0.02) m²/m³ for wood-based panels. (For other material or products, if such a loading factor is clearly not realistic under foreseeable conditions of use, use factors in Section 4.2.2 of EN 16516);
4. Air exchange rate: (1 ± 0.05) h^-1;
5. Duration: shall be sufficiently long to allow the determination of the steady state concentration but shall not exceed 28 days.

2. Shall not be placed on the market in road vehicles after 6 August 2027 if, under the test conditions specified in Appendix 14, the concentration of formaldehyde in the interior of those vehicles exceeds 0.062 mg/m³.

The above restriction shall not apply to:

1. road vehicles exclusively for industrial or professional use unless the concentration of formaldehyde in the interior of those vehicles leads to exposure of the general public under foreseeable conditions of use;
2. second-hand vehicles.

The test methods according to Appendix 14 are ISO 12219-1 or ISO 12219-10.

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