Mrs . Barbara Lager Director of Re g ulatory Affairs One Ashley Way Arcad ia , WI 54612 July 12, 2013 Dea r Mrs . Lager : UL Envi ron ment is c urrently conducting a pro j ect to measure chemical emissions fr o m Ash ley Furniture produ cts. T hi s l etter i ncludes prelim i nary find i ngs of the formaldehyde emission rates and i ncl u des so m e perspect ive on how the formaldehyde em i ss ion performance of the furn iture compares to the a ll owabl e emiss i on levels for the proposed EPA regulation for composite wood products. The Northshore fu rniture set selected for testi ng i ncludes the furniture pieces summarized in Tab le 1 . Table 1. Northshore Furniture Set 

### SKU DescriPtion B553 - 193 3 Drawer Nightstand B553- 49T ToPArrnoire B553 - 49B Base Armoire B553- 39 Med ia Chest B553- 46 Chest B553 - 131 Dresser B553- 196 Rails (Queen) B5 53- 36 M i rror B5 53- 75 Ra ils (Queen Sleigh ) B553 - 157 Headboard (Queen Panel) B553- 254 Footboard (Queen Panel) D553- 55T D i ning Room Table A p ic ture of t he furnit u re i n the test chamber i s included as Attachment 1 and a representative floor plan of th i s furniture in a room is included i n Attachment 2 to th i s letter . Testing was conducted in a 3 1 m 3 dynamic environmental chamber operated according to the g uidel i n es of ASTM D 6670 . Purified a i r was de l ivered to the ch amber at standard cond itions of 23°C , 50% relative humid ity , and 1 air change per hour over a 7-d ay test period . Formaldehyde levels in the chamber were monitored throughout the test. The chamber concentrati on measured following a 7-day equilibrium t im e was used to calcu l ate an emission rate of 1 . 527 mg/hr . The emission rate was used to ca l culate a predicted exposure concentration of 0.033 ppm . The result s and modeling parameter used to predict indoor exposure are presented i n Table 2 .



### UL Environment 2211 Newmarket Parkway, Suite 1 06 Marietta, GA 30067

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Table 2. Fonnaldehyde P redicted Exposu re Calc u lations Chamber Room Air P redict ed Allowable Product Air Change Emission Surface Room**Chan~e** 

### Exposure Emiss i ons 1 Loading 2 Rate2 Rate Area 3 Volume" Rate Concentration Product ppm mgtm 3 m2/m3 hr' 1 mg/m 2 •hr m2 m3 hr" 1 mg/m 3 

### Ppm Northshore Furniture 

### 1. 527 1 83.25 0.45 0.041 0.033 Set' Plywood 

### 0.05 0.061 0.95 0.5 0.032 9.218 83 .25 0.45 0.008 0 . 006 Particleboard 

### 0 .09 0.110 0 .43 0.5 0.128 1.748 83.25 0 . 45 0.006 0 . 005 MDF 

### 0 .1 1 0 . 135 0.26 0.5 0.260 33 . 658 83.25 0 . 45 0.233 0.190 Thin MDF 

### 0 . 13 0.160 0 .26 0 . 5 0.307 17.005 83 .25 0.45 0 . 139 0 .1 13 Composite Wood 

### 0.315 Total 1 . Maximum allowable emissions per CARB Fonnaldehyde Regulation Phase 2. 2. Product loading and chamber air change rate per ASTM E 1333 test method . 3. Exposed surface area of each type of composite wood used in the tested furniture suite (calculated by Ashley Furniture). 4 . Room vol ume for 16 .33 

### ft x 22 .5 

### ft room shown in Attachment 2 assuming 8ft ceiling height. 5 . Air change rate for residential environment per EPA Exposure Factors Handbook . 6 . Northshore Furniture Set emission rate is for complete set (composite of emissions from all furniture pieces) .



### UL Environment 2211 Newmarket Parkway, Suite 106 Marietta, GA 30067

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Table 2 also includes an estimate of the maximum potential contribution from the composite wood products used to manufacture the Northshore Furniture Set The predicted exposure concentrations f rom each 

### type of composite wood assume that each material emits forma ldehyde at the highest leve l allowed under the proposed EPA rule (worst-case**sc~nario).** The combined emissions of the composite wood products could potentially result in an exposure concentration of up to 0.315 ppm. Based on the analysis in Table 2, the Northsliore Furnitu re Set emissions represent an 89% decrease compared to the maximum allowable emissions from the newly manufactured (unlaminated) composite wood products . Sincerely ,

Dr. Elliot Horner Lead Scienti st UL Environment. Inc. Attachment 1 -Photograph of Northshore Furniture Set in Test Chamber Attachment 2- Floor Plan of Northshore Furniture Set



### UL Environment 2211 Newmarket Parkway, Suite 106 Marietta, GA 30067

### Attachment 1- Photograph of Northshore Furniture Set in Test Chamber

UL 

### Envi ronment 2211 Newmarket Parkway, Suite 106 Marietta, GA 30067

### Attachment 2- Floor Plan of Northshore Furniture Set (provided by Ashley Furniture)



### Ul Environment 2211 Newmarket Parkway, Suite 1 06 Marietta, GA 30067

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