News Coverage
Carcinogens in Playsets, Decks, Picnic Tables
EPA: Protect Children From Arsenic in Pressure-Treated Wood
Published November 14, 2003
Arsenic in pressure-treated wood -- used in playsets, decks, and picnic tables across the country -- poses an increase risk of cancer to children who play and eat on wood surfaces, a new EPA study shows.
Chromium copper arsenate (CCA) is an arsenic-based preservative used in pressure-treated wood sold at home improvement stores across the country. More than 90% of all outdoors wooden structure in the U.S. is made from arsenic-based treated wood.
The EPA and the wood industry agreed last year to phase out production of this arsenic-based compound and wood treated with it. However, existing structures are still a health concern, the report indicates.
"This study confirms that we need to protect children from arsenic-treated wood at playgrounds and in their backyards across the country," says researcher Jane Houlihan, in a news release. Houlihan is with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group based in Washington, D.C., which prepared the study for the EPA.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), voiced similar concerns.
"We don't want to be alarmist, but we do believe that precautions are in order ... there is reason for concern," says Eric Criss, a spokesman.
The wood industry voluntarily took the action in response to consumer pressure, says Jim Hale, with the Wood Preservative Science Council. "We've never thought that CCA-treated wood posed any health risk to the public or the environment and we maintain that," he tells WebMD.
However, arsenic is a known human carcinogen, and children come into contact with it when they touch the wood. Experts say that children who repeatedly come in contact with the preservative face an increase risk of developing cancer of the lungs, bladder, or skin later in life.
The EPA study shows:
* 90% of all children face a greater than one in one million cancer risk from their exposure to arsenic-treated wood. Historically, that is the EPA's "level of concern."
* In southern states, 10% of all children face a cancer risk that is 100 times higher because they spend more time outdoors playing.
"Parents should watch their children and have them avoid hand-to-mouth contact as much as possible while playing on playgrounds with CCA-pressure treated wood," Criss tells WebMD.
Children should not eat on wood surfaces and should wash their hands after touching the wood, he says.
Report Details
The EPA report released today contradicts an earlier statement, made in February 2002, in which the EPA expressed no concern about dangers to children, the agency acknowledges.
In this newest study, researchers provided homeowners across the country with test kits including hand wipes to collect arsenic residue on wood structures. They were instructed to test an area the same surface size as a 4-year-old child's hands -- about 3 by 6 inches.
Some of the findings:
* Older structures have just as much arsenic on the wood surface, on average, as do newer structures. The average amount of arsenic that easily wipes off the surface of older structures (7 to 15 years old) is essentially the same as the arsenic on newer structures (up to 1 year old).
* Example: An 8-year-old deck in Irvington, N.Y., showed the highest levels of arsenic -- 25 times the amount of arsenic allowed in a liter of water.
* Commercial deck sealants provide no long-term reduction in arsenic levels on the surface of arsenic-treated wood. Sealants appear to reduce arsenic levels for about six months. Just after application, sealants begin to wear off through physical abrasion and weathering.
To protect children from further contamination, parents are urged to:
* Wash your hands and your child's hands after every exposure, especially before eating.
* Seal the wood at least every six months with standard penetrating deck treatments.
* Replace sections of potential high exposure such as handrails, steps, or deck boards with nonarsenic alternatives.
* Keep children and pets away from the soil beneath and immediately surrounding arsenic-treated wood structures.
* Cover arsenic-treated picnic tables with a tablecloth before using.
* Do not pressure-wash to clean the surface of arsenic-treated wood. Instead, use a soap and water solution, with disposable cleaning supplies.
* Do not allow children to play on rough wood surfaces. Arsenic-treated wood splinters can be dangerous.
* Do not store toys or tools under the deck. Arsenic leaches from the wood when it rains and may coat things left there.
* Do not use commercial "deck washing" solutions. These solutions can convert chemicals on the wood to a more toxic form.
"If parents are concerned, they can [use protective measures], but we don't recommend it," says Hale. "We're asking, where are the bodies? Arsenic is ubiquitous in our environment. There's more arsenic in food and water everyday, in a bowl of rice, than you can find in playground equipment."
Indeed, arsenic is in the air, the soil, all of those things, says Criss. "The subject of arsenic in playground equipment is controversial. If the EPA would decide to allow arsenic in this wood, then we would go back and take another look at it."
"Right now, arsenic is no longer approved for use, and no manufacturer can use it for that reason," Criss tells WebMD. "We don't want to be alarmist or sensationalist, but we do feel there is reason for concern."