News Coverage
Arsenic-laced play sets pose threat
Cancer risk exists for kids, EPA says
Published December 1, 2003
Ten years ago, nearly 500 Cleveland Heights volunteers assembled to do something good for children: They spent five days at Coventry Elementary School, cutting, sanding and drilling wood and erecting the slabs into a towering play structure built into a hillside.
But the arsenic-treated wood they used probably polluted the soil, and children playing on it ever since have been exposed to cancer-causing chemicals intended to protect the wood from insects and weather.
"The project was such a beautiful thing, I'm not going to say, 'Tear it down,' " said Chris Hagan, who made a film about the effort. "If it proves that we're dropping a load of poison on that playground, nobody can feel good about that, unless you're Saddam Hussein."
The Coventry set is emblematic of a national problem. The arsenic-treated wood used on play sets poses a risk of bladder and lung cancer to 90 percent of the children who frequently are exposed to the wood, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded last month.
An EPA spokesman stressed the preliminary nature of the government's findings, which contradict earlier agency statements.
The Wood Preservative Science Council, an industry group in Washington, said the study "does not fully reflect best scientific information."
This powerful chemical concoction has been used since 1938 in telephone poles, fences, picnic tables, marinas, highway signposts and railroad ties.
The chemical name of the pesticide is chromated copper arsenate, or CCA, which is banned in many countries. Arsenic is a known carcinogen but also is naturally occurring in soils.
Manufacturers in 2002 promised to phase out arsenic-treated woods for residential uses, including play sets, after this year. Play sets in the Cleveland Metroparks use woods treated with a less toxic pesticide, though arsenic-treated wood remains on boardwalks and fishing piers, a spokeswoman said.
Many cities and schools across the country have already switched to plastics or corrosion-resistant metals for playground equipment. The new materials are cheaper than wood, require less maintenance and are safer, said David Parker, an instructor with the National Playground Safety Institute and a Metroparks Toledo Area employee.
Panels of independent scientists will evaluate the EPA's findings, beginning Wednesday. The panels may call for more research, new study methods or safety recommendations, the EPA spokesman said.
The EPA, in the meantime, is not calling for the wholesale removal of arsenic-treated play sets and decks. The biggest risk is posed by hand-to-mouth contact with the treated wood. The EPA and the Consumer Products Safety Commission advise parents and schools officials to make sure that children thoroughly wash their hands after playing on arsenic-treated wood.
Some Coventry students play outside before eating lunch. Teachers do instruct students on hygiene, but Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools have never had a special regimen for students who play on arsenic-treated play sets.
The district is one of thousands across the country and in Northeast Ohio that have the same kind of arsenic-treated play sets. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit research organization in Washington, would like to see the eventual removal of the play sets.
"There's no guidance," said Lauren Sucher, EWG's spokeswoman. "We wish the EPA would give constructive advice to parents and school administrators."
EWG recommends using wood sealants, like those used on backyard decks, on play structures three or four times per year. It also recommends replacing wood parts that small children frequently touch with their hands or mouths.
The Coventry play set is "power washed" and sealed once a year, said business manager David Boyer.
But sanding, washing and even rain can dislodge arsenic from the wood. When CCA-treated wood is newly purchased, it often looks green and can be wet to the touch. A study last year found that the danger of arsenic in lumber does not dissipate, meaning that old play sets are as hazardous as new ones.
EWG, which sells test kits for soil and wood surfaces through its Web site, www.ewg.org, has found that soil samples beneath decks and play sets often exceed arsenic levels at federally mandated toxic cleanup sites.
For more information, go to the EPA Web site at www.epa.gov/pesticides, or the Consumer Product Safety Commission at www.cpsc.gov.