Question from Toby Zallman
Some cabinet Manufacturers (over 100) are ESP certified, which means they adhere to the California standards for plywood emissions of formaldehyde. Does anyone know how good these standards are? We are finding that solid wood cabinets are super expensive and out of our price range. There are many good companies that are certified, but I was uncertain how good this standard is.
Debra’s Answer
The ESP certification on kitchen cabinets comes from the [Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA).
The simple way to answer this question is to say that all of the certified cabinets must meet the requirements of the California law for formaldehyde emissions from cabinets.
The standard is 0.05 – 0.13 ppm formaldehyde emissions. This is consistent with OSHA standards.
So many cabinet brands are listed because they can’t be sold in California unless they meet this standard. By law.
The question then becomes, is this a safe level? It depends on your body condition and how much time you are exposed, how much ventilation in your houe (will levels build up in the air or ventilate out?).
My personal rule of thumb is always get as close to zero as possible when it comes to toxic chemicals.
