Washington Post Article

1645 Views 2 Replies 3 Participants Last post by slipshod, Nov 14, 2003

tisenberg

Discussion Starter · Nov 14, 2003

Today in the Washington Post (A11), there was an interesting article

Treated Wood Poses Cancer Risk to Kids

A new Evnironmental Protection Agency study concludes that children who repeatedly come in contact with commonly found playground equipment and decks made of arsenic-treated wood face increased risk of developing cancer.

The story goes on further...

... Arsenic is a known carcinogen, and some experts and environmentalists have long suspected that chldren who repeatedly come in contact with preservative--known as chromated copper arsenate, or CCA -- face a heightened risk of developing cancer of the lungs, bladder or skin.

The story goes on further...

"EPA does not believe there is any reason to remove or replace CCA-treated strucures, including decks or playground equipment"

The story goes on further...

people should take precautions, such as washing their hands afer coming into contact with CCA-laced wood and never placing food directly on a deck or outdoor table surface.

It also states that kids in the south have a higher risk... nicer weather year around allows more play time which allows more exposure.... "10 percent of all children face a cancer risk that is 100 times higher than children in the general population..."

Just sharing information, remember one year they run the reports against the database and coffee is good for you, they run the report again the next year with an ever slight change and now coffee is bad. All in all, EVERYTHING is bad for you, just how bad is what we should worry about. Arsenic in wood, sounds bad to me. :barf:

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slipshod

· #3 · Nov 14, 2003

THE LUXURY OF OWNING A SAWMILL

I have for years distained the use of pressure treated lumber.This is not news, long ago it was thought that the stuff can't be any good for you.Hypersensitive children catch all order of maladies traced to PT lumber.
My ground contact constuction lumber of choice is Tamerack,also known as Larch.It has been called Mother Nature's pressure treated lumber.Black or Honey Locust is almost indestructable,but a bit of a bear to work with.Nearly impossible to hand drive nails into once it is dry.
I have a portable sawmill called a Simplicity.The lumber cut on it is nice and square. I can cut 32 foot long pieces.One of the fringe benefits of working a site prep business is logs come my way. I usually get paid to remove them.More and more people are coming to me for lumber to build sheds and barns with. I have started to tell them no,because I am building a large barn myself and there are only so many hours in the day.

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