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plywood boards, formaldehyde contents are specified as up Germany, and some Russian-speaking countries, to provide
to 8 mg/100 g of mass, according to EN 120 (an already applicable examples.
invalid standard that has been substituted with ČSN EN ISO In France, products are tested according to EN ISO
12460-5. Materials characterised in the class E2 are suitable 16000, A+ being the best rating [70]. In Germany, all products

for outdoors only because the formaldehyde volume may introduced to the market must be tested. Other states use a
attain eight to 30 mg/100 g mass. recognised label, such as the Finnish M1 certificate, which
Another finding lies in that the European Commission monitors the TVOC for more than 2000 items.
has set a new limit for the concentration of formaldehyde in Regarding the structure, strength, ruggedness, and stability,
‘ambient’ air: Regulation 2023/1464, published on 14 July 2023. the product appears to be excessively massive to be used by
This provision reduces the previous values to a half by children, considering the 15 mm plywood. In further research,
setting the limit of 0.062 mg/cubic metre on the emissions, we intend to examine the capabilities of 12 mm thick multiplex
particularly with regard to wood-based products and furniture plywood, reducing the overall weight of the basic element
as possible ‘sources’ of formaldehyde. down to approximately 5.0 kg.

Currently, there is chipboard/plywood furniture on the A potential direction for the future investigation may lie
European market that has not been treated with formaldehyde in other items where the technologies involved (CO2 laser,
or even has lower formaldehyde emissions than wood. 3D printing, CNC milling) at both the development and the
The manufacturer or seller of such furniture shall provide application stages facilitate design progression. Using the
an indication of the emission class. Each product and plywood combination of options specified herein often results in a
material has to be described with a technical data sheet multitude of convenient materials, new shape possibilities,
containing information on the properties and applicability of innovative structural solutions, different designs, and a higher

the product. product strength.
The Multiplex birch plywood complies with the E1 emission Utilising laser technology (PUR perforation cutting) together
class; the central Europe-based company Demos Trade with PUR foam and birch plywood multiplex delivers a final
may serve in this context as a convenient reference subject, product that supports and develops the motor skills of pre-
declaring that formaldehyde-free E0 plywood is available school children. Here, the fact that (as a new direction for
upon request (boards made from beech wood being the the research) a similar solution could support fine motor skills
most affordable ones). in pre-school children experiencing developmental dyspraxia
An optional solution for the cube would rest in using beech and/or related disorders should be seriously considered.
plywood multiplex with an E0 emission class glue. To prevent

the release of formaldehyde, all surfaces and edges of relevant
products must be sealed with lacquer. The multifunctional play
cube is protected with a water-based polyurethane varnish,
meaning that even when using an E1 class plywood the
release of formaldehyde is avoided.
In general, the path to offering and supplying a product
in which the amount of emissions is clearly demonstrable

rests in certification, i.e., labelling according to the volume of
VOC emissions. This step has already been taken by France,