News Coverage
U.S. won't band them, but city will replace its wooden park
Published November 6, 2003
A federal agency has refused to ban playgrounds made with pressure-treated wood, one of the most popular building materials. But Lancaster city, for one, has vowed to continue its plans to replace wooden playgrounds on dozens of public spots.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday denied the petition of two environmental groups to ban the use in new playsets of wood treated with the popular pesticide chromated copper arsenate.
The Environmental Working Group and Healthy Building Network had also sought a recall on all play structures on public playgrounds made with the wood, saying it posed a significant public health threat to children, similar to lead-based paint. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks from consumer products. CCA has been used for some 70 years in most pressure-treated wood. It prevents rot and insect damage. But federal studies about a year ago created an uproar when they found arsenic in the insecticide can leach to the surface of the wood and pose an increased risk of lung or bladder cancer in children playing on playgrounds and home decks.
The wood-manufacturing industry signed an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier this year to stop using CCA in wood by the end of the year. And the Consumer Product Safety Commission continues to recommend that parents and caregivers thoroughly wash children's hands with soap and water immediately after playing on CCA-treated playgrounds. It is also recommended that children not eat on the wood.
Lancaster city this summer replaced the large wooden playground at Musser Park with a plastic one, partly because of the CCA concerns, said Charlotte Katzenmoyer, public works director. She said this morning that the city would replace other playgrounds as funding permits.
Katzenmoyer said she was not surprised by the decision not to ban existing playgrounds. She said the Bush administration has chosen not to "take a heavy hand about protecting the environment."
"I don't think that means we shouldn't still be concerned with it," she added.
In its decision, Consumer Product Safety Commission members noted that the wood would effectively be out of production by the end of the year and that "most major manufacturers of playground sets have already ceased using CCA-treated wood."
Commissioners urged its scientists to continue to identify stains and sealants to reduce health risks.
"We need to educate the public about the cancer risk associated with these structures and steps to minimize the risk," said Commissioner Thomas Moore.
The Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based public policy group against big government, lauded the decision, saying ""it may help avert an unwarranted public health scare in which homeowners and communities panic about risks and needlessly tear down playsets and decks."
Angela Logomasini, the group's scientist who testified before the federal agency against the ban, said concerns over CCA wood are based on "flawed science" and "phantom risks."