U.S. Senate Passes Bill Setting Tough Formaldehyde Limits on Wood Products

(Lexology – Gary Long, Greg Fowler and Simon Castley, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP)

The U.S. Senate has approved a bill (S. 1660) establishing stringent emission standards for formaldehyde in new domestic composite wood products and foreign imports. The Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Act, sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), would amend the Toxic Substances Control Act to set a formaldehyde emission standard of approximately 0.09 parts per million on all composite wood products sold in the United States beginning January 1, 2013.

“Collectively, these would be the toughest standards in the world,” the senators said in press statements. Secondhand products and antiques would be exempt under the legislation. Read more here.

Shipping Federation Works to Free Containers

(Montreal Gazette – Mike King)

A national group representing owners, operators, charterers and agents of vessels engaged in Canada’s overseas commerce is attempting to break a backlog of shipments being held excessively long at ports on both coasts because of new customs testing rules for cargo containers.

“We’re working with the Canada Border Services Agency to get rid of the backed-up shipments,” James Moram, director of marine administration at the Shipping Federation of Canada, said yesterday from Halifax before returning to Montreal headquarters.

“Things are being done to try to clear up the Port of Halifax,” where he said there is a 77-container backlog with an average 17-day delay before they are cleared for delivery to their final destinations – more than three times the normal turnaround period.

“It’s costing importers an arm and a leg as well as lots of frustration,” Moram said.

One of the 40-foot containers carrying a wide variety of goods for eight Montreal customers, including Bombardier Inc., and five clients in Toronto, including Ford Canada, has been sitting there since June 14. Gillespie-Munro Inc., the Montreal-based international freight-forwarding firm responsible for the shipment, has been fielding angry calls from the increasingly impatient importers.

“Now everybody is yelling at us because they all think we’re lying to them,” said Chris Gillespie, president and CEO of the family company. “My staff is getting pummeled every day from the importers. “It has gone beyond all common sense,” Gillespie added. “We’re being brutalized.”

The problem began last month when the border services agency ordered all marine containers randomly selected for inspection for contraband also be tested for formaldehyde – one of six common gases used for fumigation – as a means of protecting customs employees from any possible exposure to hazardous chemicals.

But the levels of formaldehyde deemed safe by Customs on instructions of Health Canada – 0.15 parts per million, less than is found in hardwood floors, for example – have meant virtually every container has tested positive and had to be held for ventilation.

Although ventilation should not take more than a day, border services isn’t giving any explanation why the containers are being kept longer.

While the CBSA recognizes the testing and ventilation of containers is causing delays with the movement of containers and is subsequently taking action, Moram’s shipping federation, the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association and the Canadian Association of Importers and Exporters, argue the testing for formaldehyde has caused and continues to cause serious harm to the entire importing and exporting community.

They say Canadian importers are facing cancelled orders, back-to-school goods aren’t reaching the retail shelves on time, late project and construction materials are creating fines and delays while administration and tracking expenses are skyrocketing.

There have also been big backlogs at the Port of Vancouver, but Patrice Pelletier, Port of Montreal president and chief executive officer, said yesterday there are no such delays here.

CBSA Testing of Ocean Containers for Formaldehyde

(IE Canada)

I.E.Canada joined with the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association and the Shipping Federation of Canada in a letter to CBSA Executive Vice-President Greta Bossenmaier last week expressing concerns about the introduction of testing for formaldehyde and the serious harm it is causing to the trade community.

The letter reads in part as follows:

The introduction of testing for formaldehyde on containers identified for inspection by the CBSA on June 12, 2008 has caused, and continues to cause, serious harm to the entire importing and exporting community. There are several issues which we have identified as contributing to the problem.

1. The CBSA introduced this test for formaldehyde without notification to the community. No communications were sent to the importers, carriers, ports or international freight forwarders that the testing protocols were being changed.

2. There has been no communication as to the reason behind this increased testing, validation of ‘positive test levels’ or additional resources required to manage this increased testing.

3. There is no apparent reason for the Health Canada ‘safe levels’ of .15ppm. The containers which are testing positive have not been ‘fumigated’ at origin and do not bear ‘fumigation’ marks and so cannot have abnormally high levels of formaldehyde due to fumigation.

4. Increased testing and the new need for container ventilation have stressed examination facilities’ capabilities by tying up equipment, creating massive backlogs and severely frustrating human resources.

Confusion and misinformation reign; due primarily to the uncertainty now introduced into the inbound flow of goods. Neither carrier, freight forwarder, customs broker, nor cartage company can provide accurate information to the importer as to when an identified container will be inspected (backlogs are now more than eight days in Halifax, ten days in Vancouver and fourteen days in Prince Rupert). Once a container is entered into the examination warehouse, because the ‘test positive’ rate is so high – upwards of 95% in many inspection facilities, and because the CBSA is not adequately resourced to handle proper ventilation, we are experiencing additional delays of up to three weeks.

Canadian import capabilities are being severely compromised. Canadian importers are facing cancelled orders, back-to-school goods are not reaching the retail shelves on time, late project and construction materials are crating fines and delays, administration and tracking expenses are skyrocketing. Canadian export containers identified for inspection by the CBSA have also been delayed — in one instance by five sailing rotations — severely compromising Canada’s export capabilities. The impact of this testing for formaldehyde at the current ‘safe levels’ will have a dramatic, negative effect on the Canadian economy and on Canada’s competitiveness. We respectfully ask the CBSA to review and rescind the decision to test for formaldehyde.

A copy of the letter is available here. If your marine containers are being delayed due to testing for fumigants, IE Canada would like to hear from you. Please contact Amesika Baeta at abaeta@iecanada.com.

Companies Hurt While Inventories Waylaid at Ports by CBSA Rules

(CBC News)

Newly expanded rules at the Canada Border Services Agency to test for fumes in containers arriving at ports across the country are putting businesses — and Canadian trade — under threat, business owners say.

The backlog of containers docked at ports across the country has been growing since the CBSA added formaldehyde to the list of fumigants its employees must test for before the marine containers can travel to their final destinations.

Port authorities say many more containers have come up positive since formaldehyde was listed in June, making them too dangerous for examination by inspectors and leaving their cargo stuck at port for weeks, instead of days.

“Sales orders are being cancelled because goods are not being delivered as per the sales contracts. Canadian importers are suffering, Canada’s trade is suffering,” Ruth Snowden, executive director of the Canadian International Freight Forwarders Association, told CBC News.

CBSA regulations dictate that containers that test positive have to be ventilated until fumigants reach an acceptable level. Freight companies, however, are demanding the government agency reconsider the rules in order to get the containers moving again, and to keep their customers in business.

One woman who owns a coffee roasting business in London, Ont., said that if her beans — which were supposed to be delivered from South America three weeks ago — arrive spoiled, they will ruin her business too.

“I can’t sell coffee, I don’t have revenue,” said Maria Fiallos, owner of Las Chicas del Café. “I don’t have revenue for my Canadian business, I don’t have revenue for the coffee growers in Nicaragua.”

Another business owner, Mike Calnan, is still waiting for a shipment of antique vehicles from Britain that were scheduled to appear at the Ottawa air show on Canada Day. He said their absence was an incredible disappointment after he put almost a year’s work into getting them to Canada.

Both Calnan’s and Fiallos’ shipments are sitting idle at the Port of Halifax, where almost every container that has arrived in the last three weeks and has been targeted for testing has come up positive for formaldehyde — a chemical commonly found in glue and used in everything from cars to furniture.

“We’re very concerned about it and we urge the CBSA to work to improve the process to basically minimize the delays,” said the Halifax port’s manager of business development, Patrick Bohan.

The CBSA has said it is looking into new “highly sensitive detection technology” that may make the testing process more efficient, but that the health and safety of its employees is its top priority.

Some experts say formaldehyde could lead to cancer if people are exposed to very small amounts over long periods of time, as evidenced in experiments with animals.

“At no time will the CBSA compromise the health and safety of its employees. CBSA has the appropriate measures in place to protect its employees from any possible exposure to hazardous chemicals,” the CBSA agency said in a statement this week.

Rules on Formaldehyde Cause Backlog at Ports

(CBC News)

New rules to test fumes in containers that arrive at Canadian ports have resulted in a huge backlog of containers for inspection, according to port authorities.

The Canada Border Services Agency now requires employees to test all marine containers for fumigants, including formaldehyde, which was added to the list in June. Since then, port authorities say many more containers have tested positive, meaning they’re too dangerous for inspectors to continue examining.

In the Port of Halifax, where thousands of containers arrive each week, every container that has arrived in the last three weeks and has been targeted for testing has come up positive.

“The Port Authority takes very seriously anything that causes delays in the supply chain and customers of the port are looking for consistency and reliability, and they’ve brought this matter to our attention,” said the Halifax port’s manager of business development, Patrick Bohan.

“We’re very concerned about it, and we urge CBSA to work to improve the process to basically minimize the delays in the process.”

At Maritime Ontario’s Dartmouth warehouse, dozens of containers are sitting idle while they are being aired out and ventilated with fans, which is done when an unacceptable level of fumigants is detected.

Current testing done by the CBSA checks for six common fumigants, now including formaldehyde – a chemical commonly found in glue and used in everything from cars to furniture. Some experts say formaldehyde is an allergen or skin irritant that can lead to cancer if people are exposed to very small amounts over long periods of time.

The CBSA said the health of its employees is its top priority. “At no time will the CBSA compromise the health and safety of its employees. CBSA has the appropriate measures in place to protect its employees from any possible exposure to hazardous chemicals,” the CBSA said in a statement.

The union representing port inspectors, however, said it believes the new tests may be coming up with false positives. “Our officers are very eager to see some of the hiccups, some of the problems, with testing be resolved so they can get back to doing more fully their job of protecting Canadians,” said Brett Evans, the branch president in Halifax.

The CBSA has said it is looking into new “highly sensitive detection technology” that may make the testing process more efficient.