New ANSI/BIFMA Furniture emissions standards gain wide acceptance

A number of furniture manufacturers are embracing BIFMA International's newly developed Furniture Emissions Standards. In September 2007, BIFMA announced formal ANSI approval of two standards: ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2007, Standard Test Method for Determining VOC Emissions From Office Furniture Systems, Components and Seating, and ANSI/BIFMA X7.1-2007, Standard for Formaldehyde and TVOC Emissions of Low-emitting Office Furniture Systems and Seating. As stated by BIFMA's Executive Director, "ANSI approval ensures that a broad and diverse group of stakeholders have had the opportunity to participate in the development and their comments have been appropriately addressed."

The other big news is that office furniture systems and seating tested and in compliance with these new standards are eligible for USGBC LEED-CI credit EQ4.5 Low-Emitting Materials: Systems Furniture and Seating under the Option C pathway that was approved in late 2006. And a major certifying body, Scientific Certification Systems, Inc. (SCS) has incorporated the standards into its certification programs for furniture products.

The CA Department of General Services’ 2008 RFP for procurement of Open Office Panel Systems (OOPS) required testing of furniture systems using ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2007. The RFP also allowed testing of component materials in small-scale following the same regimen. Importantly, the RFP specified the VOC emission criteria defined in the CDPH Standard Practice. The Excel workbook, developed by the State, that manufacturers’ were required to use for submittal of VOC emissions data can be downloaded here: IAQ CA Workbook . 

The advantages to manufacturers of using the BIFMA standards are numerous:

• Rules for measuring, modeling and evaluating emissions are transparent
• Workstation parameters are based on extensive analysis of real floor plans
• Ventilation parameters are based on ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004
• Multiple qualified laboratories, such as BAA, can conduct the tests
• Multiple certifying bodies can use the standards

BIFMA partnered with Dr. Jianshun Zhang of Syracuse University in NY in developing test method, ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2007. Dr. Zhang's laboratory conducted a round robin evaluation of the method that included chamber validation, analysis of unknown spiked tubes, analysis of samples collected concurrently from the SYU chamber, and tests of identical chairs. In total, there were five participating laboratories including SYU and the U.S. EPA. BAA was invited and was one of three participating commercial laboratories.

SCS's Indoor Advantage and Indoor Advantage Gold certification programs for office furniture and seating are based on the BIFMA standards and require testing using the ANSI/BIFMA M7.1-2007 method. Furniture products that have earned these marks are listed on the SCS website. Many of these products have been tested by BAA. Manufacturers also may certify their products under LEED credit EQ4.5 Option C using an independent laboratory.

Whether you are applying for third-party certification, or not, BAA can help you design a sensible and cost-effective testing strategy for your furniture product lines.