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Singapore plans to completely ban the sale of indoor coatings containing formaldehyde from 2025
Time：
2024-01-24
The National Environment Agency of Singapore plans to completely ban the sale of indoor coatings containing formaldehyde from July 1, 2025.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore recently announced an important proposal to completely ban the sale of indoor coatings containing formaldehyde from July 1, 2025. Once this proposal takes effect, it will stipulate that only indoor coatings that do not add formaldehyde are allowed to be sold in the Singapore market.
Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a pungent odor and is easily volatile. Its chemical formula is HCHO or CH ₂ O, slightly heavier than the mass of air, usually concentrated at heights of 0.8-1.5 meters in the air. It is widely used in the manufacturing of resins, disinfectants, or preservatives in building products. Contact with formaldehyde may cause eye irritation, respiratory mucosal discomfort, leading to symptoms such as tearing, sore throat, sneezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing, and may even trigger asthma symptoms.
According to NEA's recommendation, relevant companies must be tested by an official authoritative organization recognized by the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation Mutual Recognition Arrangement (ILAC MRA) and submit a formaldehyde test report to NEA, proving that the total formaldehyde content in their product cans is less than 0.01% w/w. The following measurement methods must be used for testing:
|
Type of coating |
Measurement method for total formaldehyde content | |
|
Formaldehyde extraction |
Analysis of formaldehyde extract |
|
| Water-soluble type | Acid distillation |
(a) Use acetylacetone reagent for photometric determination; (b) Perform high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) determination using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine reagent. |
| Solvent type | Appropriate methods | |
In addition, the proposal also points out that as long as the paint formula remains unchanged, the test report will remain valid. For companies producing or importing indoor paints containing formaldehyde, if they plan to export or re export their products, they must apply for a Hazardous Substance (HS) license from NEA. It is worth mentioning that this requirement does not apply to companies selling industrial paints in Singapore. Such paints need to be labeled to inform consumers that they contain formaldehyde and are only used for industrial or outdoor purposes, not indoors.
The relevant consulting work plan will start on November 22, 2023 and end on December 13, 2023. NEA encourages all relevant parties to actively participate and provide feedback.
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