POSCO Steelion sharply reduces formaldehyde emissions
Secures test results from global testing agency UL, expands product lineup
POSCO Steelion (formerly POSCO Coated & Color Steel) announced that it has become the first color-coated steel sheet manufacturer in Korea to develop an eco-friendly urethane print steel sheet with sharply reduced formaldehyde emissions, and that it has completed initial production.
Formaldehyde is a Group 1 carcinogen with an irritating odor and toxicity. It is emitted from various construction materials and is known to cause sick building syndrome.
POSCO Steelion developed a new type of print steel sheet that applies urethane resin instead of the polyester resin mainly used in conventional print steel sheets. The company created an eco-friendly product that reduces emissions of the hazardous substance formaldehyde while retaining the stain resistance, corrosion resistance, and workability of conventional print steel sheets.
POSCO Steelion's eco-friendly urethane print steel sheet was submitted for testing to UL, a global safety science company, and was tested in accordance with the standard method of the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) (CA Section 01350, Version 1.2). While conventional print steel sheets failed to pass the stringent formaldehyde emission standards, POSCO Steelion's eco-friendly urethane print steel sheet recorded a formaldehyde emission level below the standard value (9.0 ㎍/㎥) and obtained a test report meeting the required standards.
POSCO Steelion expects the eco-friendly urethane print steel sheet to create new demand. Beginning with the initial production of an export-bound product on April 2, the company anticipates growing demand not only in countries around the world—where the emphasis on eco-friendliness and occupational safety and health is intensifying—but also in the domestic market.
A POSCO Steelion official said, "As ESG (environmental, social, and governance) management has recently emerged as a global trend, how diverse a company's portfolio of eco-friendly products is has become a criterion for judging whether a company is sustainable," adding, "Following our existing eco-friendly products with functions such as non-combustibility, antimicrobial properties, and high corrosion resistance, the development of the urethane print steel sheet gives us an even more diverse lineup of eco-friendly products, which we expect will greatly help us open up new markets."