Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

In basic terms, pressure treated plywood is regular plywood that is placed inside a cylinder full of ACQⁱ chemical. The chamber is sealed, and air is withdrawn to create a vacuum, which forces the chemical into the cells in the wood. After the treatment is complete, the plywood is removed, placed in a kilnⁱ and dried.

There are various "retention levels" available in ACQ plywood, and the application dictates the retention level required. Pressure treated plywood that is in contact with the soil requires a higher retention level than plywood which is above gradeⁱ. The highest retention level is used for wood that is immersed in salt water.

PSI uses only ACQ for treatment purposes. CCAⁱ has been the industry standard for many years, and is still available. However, there is evidence that some of the arsenic in the CCA treated material can "leach" out of the wood and into the soil overtime. Since pressure treated wood is often used in children's playgrounds, the dangers are obvious. For that reason, PSI decided about 6 years ago to only offer the ACQ treatment (which does not contain arsenic).

No - Panel Source focuses exclusively on green forest products.

Great question. This is a very serious issue. At Panel Source we believe greenwashing is out of control and a backlash is coming. If you are concerned about this, you should be.

Our recommendation is to challenge all claims. Ask questions, and don't accept responses that sound ok but have no weight.

At Panel Source in order to alleviate these concerns we get third party certification on as many products as possible. Third party certification helps ensure transparency, integrity and verification. Beware of any company who has industry sponsored certification.

Panel Source is certified by SCSⁱ to be a FSCⁱ Certified supplier. Panel Sources fire retardant product Pyroblockⁱ is certified by Intertek Testing Services to meet the Class A fire rating.

If you see any greenwashing going on, send us a note, and we will write about it in the Green Bulletin. A donation will be made to forest ethics on your behalf.

Greenwashing is the process of describing or labeling products to indicate that the product contains various "environmental" features, when in fact, the wording is either false or misleading. Such an activity is illegal under the regulations established for environmental claims by the FTCⁱ. The current US government has been notoriously reluctant to enforce the FTC regulations.

Yes - and here are a few guidelines:

Purekor® - Includes all of products that are not fire retardant.
Pyroblock® - Includes all of our fire retardant products.
Certified - Any Panel Source product that is certified is FSCⁱ Certified.
Plus - this term after any product means it is free of added urea formaldehydeⁱ.
Platinumⁱ - this term is used for any products that are BOTH FSC Certified and contain no added Urea Formaldehyde.

Call 877.464.7246

OR

Download the Panel Source Reference Chart. This comprehensive document has all of our products, sizes available, and particular green features.

You'll find Panel Source to be very different from other forest products companies that you have dealt with previously. There are no minimum volume requirements. We ship you exactly what you need.

No.

Even panels that are UFⁱ Free still emit formaldehyde. This is due to the fact that formaldehyde exists naturally in the wood fiber itself. Formaldehyde exists in all living tissue. Finally, there are other VOCⁱ's beyond formaldehyde that can also be emitted from the product.

The concerns over formaldehyde are not really new. This issue has been around for 20+ years, especially in the wood products industry.

The IARCⁱ (International Agency for Research on Cancer) in 2006 re-classified urea formaldehydeⁱ from a probable human carcinogen to a known human carcinogen.

This ruling has essentially ended the debate, however the fallout will continue for years.

This whole situation will likely resemble the asbestos issue.

No. Products can contribute to achieving LEED credits, however, they are not certified by LEED. Buildings are the only thing that can be LEED certified.

A relatively complex question, but generally speaking, if you are involved in reselling the product and taking title to the product, you require FSCⁱ Certification.

For millworkⁱ firms, the answer depends on whether you supply or supply and install the millwork. For a company that only supplies, you need FSC Certification. If you supply and install, then you don't need FSC Certification.

For firms who only install, you don't need to be certified. You are seen as a contractor and therefore the "end user".

Go to the website www.metafore.org or www.certifiedwood.org.

The site will allow you to checkⁱ on a product or company.

Not necessarily. It really depends on the volume of FSCⁱ Certified fiber in the substrate that you are using for the application of veneers. A substrate with 75% FSC content doesn't require an FSC Certified veneer to have the overall panel considered FSC Certified. If the substrate has less than 75% content, then the veneer must be FSC Certified. Among PSI products with 75% FSC content include the following:

Purekor® Certified MDFⁱ (100%)
Purekor® Platinumⁱ MDF (100%)

Purekor® Plywood Plus (100%)

Purekor® Platinum Door Coreⁱ (100%)

Pyroblock® Certified MDF (100%)
Pyroblock® Platinum MDF (100%)

Pyroblock® Plywood Plus (100%)

Only very small volumes of "strawboardⁱ" are being produced in North America. This supply is unreliable and inconsistent in large volumes. Panel Source recommends that customers avoid specifying strawboard for any regular sheet stock project.

There is one strawboard product that is available: Purekorⁱ Ag-Fiber Door Coreⁱ. This product is UFⁱ free and rapidly renewable. It is available in large or small volumes and is consistent when it comes to delivery dates.

Rest assured that when new sources become available, Panel Source will let everyone know.

EQ 4.2ⁱ stands for Low-Emitting Materials: Paints and Coatings. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to reduce the quantity of indoor air contaminants that are odorous, potentially irritating and/or harmful to the comfort and well being of installers and occupants.

To achieve this credit, there are three components. VOCⁱ emissions from paints must not exceed the VOC and chemical component limits of Green Sealⁱ's Standard GS-11, January 1997 requirements.

AND

The VOC content of anti-corrosive coatings used must be less than the current VOC content limits of Green Seal Standard GS-03, May 1993 requirements.

AND

For interior paints and coatings not already covered by GS-11 and GS-03 the VOC content for all primers, under coatings, sealers, and clear wood finishes used must be less than the current VOC content limits of South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) rule #1113, November 1996 requirements.

MR 7.0ⁱ stands for Materials and Resources 7.0. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to increase and encourage environmentally responsible forest management by accepting only FSCⁱ Certified wood.

For this credit, use a minimum of 50% of wood based materials, certified in accordance with the Forest Stewardship Council's Principles and Criteria, for wood building components including, structural framingⁱ and general dimensional framing, flooring, finishes, furnishings, and non rented temporary construction applications such as bracing, concrete form work, and pedestrian barriers.

MR 5.2ⁱ stands for Materials and Resources 5.2. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to further increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.

To achieve this credit, 20% of the materials in the project must come from a certain radius to the job site. As the distance changes between US and Canadian rating systems, ask a Panel Source expert if our products will qualify for your job.

MR 5.1ⁱ stands for Materials and Resources 5.1. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.

To achieve this credit, 10% of the materials in the project must come from a certain radius to the job site. As the distance changes between US and Canadian rating systems, ask a Panel Source expert if our products will qualify for your job.

MR 4.2ⁱ stands for Material and Resources 4.2. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, therefore reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of new virgin materials and by-passing energy and greenhouse gas intensive industrial and manufacturing processes.

For this credit, use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post consumer recycled contentⁱ plus one half of the pre consumer recycled contentⁱ constitutes at least 15% of the total value of the materials in the project.

MR 4.1ⁱ stands for Materials and Resources 4.1. This is a credit in the LEED rating system. It was designed to increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, therefore reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of new virgin materials and by-passing energy and greenhouse gas intensive industrial and manufacturing processes.

For this credit, use materials with recycled content such that the sum of post consumer recycled contentⁱ plus one half of the pre consumer recycled contentⁱ constitutes at least 7.5% of the total value of the materials in the project.

(post consumer + 1/2 pre consumer)