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Poison on the Playground
Should Parents Be Concerned About Treated Wood?
By C.J. Johnson
The CPSC is not the only agency that is evaluating the cancer risk of CCA-treated wood. Dave Deegan, spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), explains that the manufacturers of CCA-treated wood approached the EPA over a year ago with the idea of phasing out the use of CCA.
The companies knew the EPA would be performinga study on CCA-treated wood and suggested the products be removed from the market while the assessment was being performed. "We supported taking the wood products off the market," says Deegan. "Regardless of our future findings, we feel that reducing exposure to arsenic is a good thing."
Within the next five months the EPA plans to have a preliminary version of their risk assessment for the public and their scientific peers for review and comment. "Then based on comments we receive and reviews we are given on the work we have completed at that point, we will finalize the assessment," Deegan says.
The EPA then hopes to have its risk assessment completed by the end of 2003. In order to research the impact of CCA on children, the EPA is examining freshly-treated wood and older wood that was treated with the chemicals years earlier. According to Deegan, they are proceeding with guidelines that were established by a scientific advisory commission that met to discuss the methodology the EPA should follow to assess children's exposure to the chemicals. "The panel gave us a whole set of recommendations that we have been following," says Deegan.
Regardless of their future findings, the EPA will enforce the new safety standards as of January 1, 2004. CCA will no longer be used to treat wood. Alternative wood preservatives which do not contain arsenic will then be used for wood that will be used in all manufacturing and retail sectors. Although the EPA has not concluded that there is unreasonable risk to the public from CCA products, they feel that a reduction in exposure to arsenic is important.
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