Legislator offers proposal to ban 'poison wood'

Use of arsenic to treat lumber produces concern

Woodland Daily Democrat, Chris Rizzo
Published January 25, 2002

SACRAMENTO -- Worry that frolicking on playground equipment made of CCA-treated lumber may expose children to dangerous levels of arsenic has prompted one lawmaker to draft legislation to ban the "poison wood." "There is no doubt that arsenic is dangerous," said Sen. Gloria Romero, D-Rosemead. "If the San Diego Zoo doesn't let a two-ton elephant near this type of treated wood, why should we allow children to play on it." While arsenic is banned for all agricultural and food uses, CCA -- or chromated copper arsenate -- is allowed as a wood preservative under federal law. During the 1980s, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency studied CCA and concluded that the treated wood "does not pose unreasonable risks to children or adults, either from direct contact with the wood or from contact with surrounding soil where some releases may have occurred." However, a recent report by the Oakland-based Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit environmental lobby, disputes those findings. "We know that arsenic in drinking water is dangerous for children, but what we found was that the arsenic in lumber is an even greater risk," said EWG analyst Renee Sharp. "In less than two weeks, an average 5-year-old playing on an arsenic-treated playset would exceed the lifetime cancer risk considered acceptable under federal pesticide law." Physicians say children typically ingest the deadly element by putting their hands into their mouths after playing on inadequately sealed or splintering equipment. Dr. Joe Landolph, a medical toxicologist at USC, said CCA has the "potential for causing significant toxicity," namely, he said, lung cancer. Mel Pine, a spokesman for the American Wood Preservers Institute, which represents wood preservers, said claims that CCA is dangerous are unfounded. "There is no evidence in any peer-reviewed medical or scientific journal to support claims that CCA is harmful to people or to the environment when used as recommended," Pine said. While there are alternatives on the market to arsenic preservatives, he said they are less effective and more costly. The EPA is expected to release a new report on the dangers of CCA next month, but Romero said she expects that politics will dilute the study's recommendations. "I don't think that California can wait for the EPA to act," Romero said. "Besides, I don't expect much to come out of the report."