Product Emission Testing

• Belgium:  KB May 8, 2014 Royal Decree establishing the threshold levels of emissions into the indoor environment of building products for specific intended use (floor covering products, glues for floor covering products and finishing products for wooden floor coverings );
• Germany: AgBB - Health-related Evaluation Procedure for Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions (VOC and SVOC) from Building Products; New German regulation was notified under the notification number 2016/0376/D since July 2016
• France: legislation requiring all construction and decoration materials for indoor use should be tested and labeled on their VOC emissions into the indoor environment; (Arrêté du 28 mai 2009 modifiant l'arrêté du 30 avril 2009, Arrêté du 20 février 2012 modifiant l'arrêté du 19 avril 2011, Décret no 2011-321 du 23 mars 2011);
• Lithuanian legislation: Draft amendment of Order No V-895 by the Minister for Health of the Republic of Lithuania of 9 December 2004 approving Lithuanian Hygiene Norm HN 105:2014 "Polymer construction products and polymer furniture materials" Notification N° 2014/530/LT;
• Polish legislation: Monitor Polska NR 19/1996, pos. 231. ORDINANCE OF THE MINISTER OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL WELFARE of 12 March 1996 on the permitted concentrations and intensities of agents harmful for health emitted by construction materials, facilities and components of furniture in rooms intended for human residence;
• EU: CEN/TC 351: New horizontal normative (all construction materials) "Construction products: assessment of release of dangerous substances": - Determination of emissions into indoor air (CEN/TS 16516)" and EN 16402 ”Paints and varnishes - Assessment of emissions of substances from coatings into indoor air - Sampling, conditioning and testing”;
• CE marking: VOC emissions testing according to CEN/TS 16516. VITO is listed as notified testing lab (Notified Body number 2695).
• EU Decopaint (VOC content): Directive 2004/42/EC: limits the total content of VOCs in certain paints and varnishes and in vehicle refinishing products
• Italy (PANGPP): Italian Decree on Green Public Procurement issued in January 2016 (21-1-2016 GAZZETTA UFFICIALE DELLA REPUBBLICA ITALIANA Serie generale - n. 16)
• California "Section 01350" Specification: California CDPH Standard Method is the reference US standard for evaluating and restricting VOC emissions indoor air. Several systems in the US refer to CDPH Standard Method. The latest revision occurred in January 2017. VITO is on the list of VOC emission testing labs published by California Department of Public Health.
• Voluntary emission labelling: bv EMICODE, M1, Blue Angel, EU-Ecolabel, Natureplus, GUT, BIFMA, …
• COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) 2016/1017 of 23 June 2016 amending Annex XVII to Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) as regards inorganic ammonium salts: Inorganic ammonium salts shall not be placed on the market, or used, in cellulose insulation mixtures or cellulose insulation articles after 14 July 2018 unless the emission of ammonia from those mixtures or articles results in a concentration of less than 3 ppm by volume (2,12 mg/m3) (under the test conditions specified in paragraph 4 of the regulation)
• The Californian Airborne Toxic Control Measure to Reduce Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products
• New French Regulation furniture: will apply on 1 January 2020, for products placed on the market after that date. For products placed on the market before this, it will apply from 1 January. Decree on the labelling of furniture products regarding their emissions of volatile pollutants and Order on the labelling of furniture products regarding emissions of volatile pollutants.
• Denmark has recently notified a new draft formaldehyde regulation 2017/89/DK for furniture products: Order concerning restrictions on the use of wood-based materials, that release formaldehyde, in the making of furniture, etc., and restrictions on the sale of furniture made of wood-based materials that release formaldehyde.

VITO is a European notified testing body following CEN/TS 16516 (prEN 16516) and a recognized test institute for many national and international quality labels.

VITO performs for you performance tests according to ISO 16000-23 and ISO 16000-24: “Performance tests for evaluating the reduction of volatile organic compounds and carbonyl compounds concentrations by sorptive building materials”.

VITO determines the leaching of chemical compounds by the building materials to the aqueous phase compliant with horizontal test standards (all building materials) developed in CEN/TC 351 “Construction products – Assessment of release of dangerous substances”:

1. FprCEN/TS 16637-1: Construction products – assessment of release of DS – Part 1: Guidance for the determination of leaching tests (2017)
2. CEN/TS 16637-2: Construction products – assessment of release of DS – Part 2: Horizontal dynamic surface leaching test (DSLT) (2014)
3. FprCEN/TS 16637-3 (2015): Construction products – Assessment of release of dangerous substances – Part 3: Horizontal up-flow percolation test (2015)

Ecotoxicity

EU: CEN/TC 351 horizontal normative test method (all construction materials): "Construction products: assessment of release of dangerous substances: Assessment of release of dangerous substances – Guidance on the use of ecotoxicity tests applied to construction products (FprCEN/TR 17105)”; Results from a round robin test for the ecotoxicological evaluation of construction products using two leaching tests and an aquatic test battery, Gartiser et al., Chemosphere 175 (2017), 138-146.        

Eluate and content analysis

Robustness validation of the draft methods for eluate and content analysis of As, Sb and Se performed by VITO in 2016 (CEN/TC 351/WG5 document N0320). Study accomplished under the authority of CEN/TC 351/WG 5.

We perform a life cycle analyses (LCA, PEF, EPD,…) of your products.
Conform CEN/TC 350: “Sustainability of construction works”
Based on these results you can adjust your product development process.