| Washington, DC 20207 |
Today the Commission released its interim report on the effectiveness of various surface coatings in reducing dislodgeable arsenic from new wood pressure-treated with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA). This was an opportunity for the Commission to reiterate the potential cancer risk to young children who play on CCA pressure-treated wood. Information about that risk is needed to motivate parents and municipalities to take preventative measures by using the most effective surface treatments identified in that report. However, both the report and the accompanying press materials fail to identify what the risk is, who is at risk and how people are exposed to that risk. Neither the media nor concerned parents should have to read between the lines when the health of our nation's children is at stake.
To put the report in context, in February 2003, the Commission staff submitted a report to the Commissioners in which they found that some children may face an increased risk of developing lung or bladder cancer over their lifetime from playing on playground equipment made from CCA pressure-treated wood. The increased cancer risk ranges from 2 in a million to 100 in a million. This risk is in addition to the risk of getting cancer due to other factors over one's lifetime. Staff believes that hand-to-mouth behavior is the primary source of exposure to arsenic from CCA pressure-treated wood. Young children who routinely put their hands in their mouths (generally children under 6 years of age) can then ingest the arsenic directly from their hands or indirectly when they touch food or toys, which are then placed in their mouths.
This is why parents of young children who routinely play on playgrounds, decks or other surfaces made of CCA pressure-treated wood should be concerned. The staff report being released today gives a preliminary analysis of which types of surface treatments do the best job of reducing the amount of arsenic that could otherwise find its way onto small hands. With this information parents can reduce the hazards in their backyards. And the municipalities that have not known what to do with public playgrounds made from CCA pressure-treated wood can use a less expensive mitigation strategy to tearing those structures down (which a number have already done).
This agency's job is to inform and protect the public. The Commission was concerned enough to do the mitigation study and to release an interim report about it to the public. We should make sure that the underlying message is not obscured. If you have young children and they play on CCA pressure-treated wood in your backyard, you should seriously consider treating that structure with a penetrating stain or sealant to reduce the amount of arsenic to which the children are exposed and thereby reduce their risk of getting cancer as an adult. In any event, parents and caregivers should thoroughly wash their children's hands with soap and water immediately after outdoor play on CCA pressure-treated wood, especially before eating. Children should be discouraged from eating while on CCA-treated playgrounds.
Our staff is continuing its study of the surface treatments to determine their effectiveness after two years of weathering. That report should be available later this year.