Arsenic-treated wood targeted

Boston Globe, Lisa Capone
Published June 2, 2001

A May 23 report by two national environmental organizations on the dangers of arsenic-treated wood in playgrounds and picnic areas prompted Haverhill Environmental League chairman Brent Baeslack to take action. A former building materials salesman, Baeslack plans to inventory all Haverhill school and city parks this month to determine where arsenic-treated lumber exists and what to do about it. The Haverhill Environmental League, Salem Sound 2000, and Salem Health Link are part of a statewide coalition that called on the governor to phase out the use of wood treated with copper chromium arsenate, a common preservative used to kill termites. The Massachusetts groups, led by Clean Water Action, also joined a national campaign urging the US Consumer Product Safety Commission to ban arsenic-treated wood in playgrounds, said Clean Water Action's Elizabeth Saunders. The state groups held a news conference the same day two national organizations, the Environmental Working Group and Health Building Network, released data indicating that wood treated with arsenic poses a greater risk to children than arsenic-contaminated drinking water. The most common preservative, chromated copper arsenate, is 22 percent pure arsenic, the report said. Arsenic is a known cancer agent, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency. "Do you want that on a surface that you're encouraging people to eat on?" said Baeslack. Lori Ehrlich of Health Link said her group is familiar with arsenic's toxicity through its work on disposal of fly ash from the Salem Harbor power plant. "We've learned how hazardous it is to the human body," she said. "Having it so close to our children on playground equipment should be cause for alarm." According to Clean Water Action, Florida, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California have moved to phase out the preservative.