News Coverage
East Bay Group Pushes to Ban Arsenic-laced Playground Sets
Published March 24, 2003
AN ENVIRONMENTAL group with offices in Oakland and Washington, D.C., wants the government to force parks and schools to remove all wooden playground sets sealed with an arsenic-based preservative.
The demand follows the announcement last month by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that children could face an increased lifetime risk of developing lung or bladder cancer from using playground equipment treated with chromated copper arsenate, or CCA.
But the report didn't call for the removal of the equipment, a position the Environmental Working Group considers too lax.
"Arsenic in existing play structures is a public health problem very similar in magnitude to lead paint," said Jane Houlihan, vice president for research for the organization, said in her testimony to the commission.
The federal agency has "severely underestimated," the health risk to children, she continued.
"We recommend that (the commission) immediately recall play sets on public playgrounds," Houlihan said.
Manufacturers should reimburse purchasers for the sets, she added.
Wood preservative manufacturers say most studies show that treated play sets are not dangerous.
They also say a ban is unnecessary because an agreement between the industry and federal government end the use of the chemical in most consumer products by January.
Almost all wooden playground equipment in use has been treated with the pesticide.
The government's concern is that children can get arsenic residue from the treated wood on their hands, then put their hands in their mouths.
Easing kids' worries
With "No War" signs hanging in neighborhood windows, protesters gridlocking city streets and televised images showing bombs falling on Baghdad, a University of California, Berkeley, professor last week released guidelines for parents to calm and counsel their children in time of war.
"The kinds of events we're now experiencing as a nation and society potentially affect all or most kids," said Dr. W. Thomas Boyce, professor of child development.
Boyce emphasized the importance of communication between parents and children to help cope with stress.
He also said that in times of stress parents can ease their children's anxiety by maintaining routine and structure, to the extent possible.
If a child appears unusually obsessed with war or inconsolably anxious, Boyce recommended that parents seek help from an expert, such as a pediatrician or child psychiatrist.
Smallpox primer kits mailed
The state launched a blitz campaign last week to buff up health care workers' knowledge of smallpox. Most doctors and nurses now have no experience with the deadly virus, as the last U.S. case was reported in 1949 and the last case worldwide was reported in Somalia in 1977, according to the federal government.
The California Department of Health Services sent kits out to nearly 360,000 physicians and other health care providers throughout the state. The kits include information on recognizing smallpox, as well as distinguishing it from chickenpox.
Although smallpox has been eradicated, public health officials worldwide have been preparing for the possible -- although remote -- chance that the virus will be intentionally released as a bioterror agent.
Wearable sunscreen
At this week's American Academy of Dermatology meeting in San Francisco, a firm called Coolibar is displaying its line of sun-protective clothing. The Skin Cancer Foundation last week gave its seal of approval to the 22 garments, which include hats, sarongs, umbrellas and swim shirts.
The Skin Cancer Foundation and many dermatologists recommend sun-protective clothing to shield skin from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation -- the leading cause of skin cancer.