Backyard_Dangers

We just finished building our children's backyard play-set. It required a lot of pressure treated wood, time and money. It was a lot of hard work! Watching my 4 small children play with such enthusiasm, I sit back and think, it was well worth it.

Those were my thoughts yesterday. Today my feelings for this play-set, of pride and joy, have been replaced by worry and fear. You might wonder why my feelings could change so quickly, but I have my reasons, as you will soon find out. Today I heard the word 'arsenic'. Yes, I know we have all heard of arsenic, but for most of us, arsenic is just another word for rat poison, or so I thought. I heard this dreaded word 'arsenic' in the same sentence as 'children' and 'play-set', so naturally my ears open with interest. Wanting to learn more on this subject I quickly went to the Internet for research. To my astonishment I found numerous sites regarding pressure treated wood that contains arsenic. Yes, the same pressure treated wood used in most children's play-sets, including the one we just built.

Most people who use this popular wood don't have a clue that it contains toxic pesticides. They don't know the wood has been banned in several countries. They don't know that some companies that sell the arsenic-filled wood in the United States make another kind of pressure-treated wood, one that doesn't have arsenic in it, and sell it overseas. I am among these clue-less people; after all I did not see any warning signs in the store or on the wood. The play-set kit I purchased supplied this wood, so why would I even think of it as being dangerous.

You might wonder why arsenic is so dangerous, it is no wonder to me, after all it's used to kill rats. Would you let your kids play with rat poison, I know I wouldn't. Pressure-treated lumber has enough arsenic in it to be classified as a hazardous waste. Chronic exposure to arsenic can cause cancer and or other health problems including rashes, skin lesions, neurological problems and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (1) . You can pick up minute levels of arsenic from touching treated wood or from touching soil that is contaminated with arsenic. The main route of exposure from this treated wood is from hand-to-mouth, which is why children have a much higher risk. Young children with frequent hand-to-mouth activity may swallow some of this arsenic. "In two weeks, an average 5-year-old playing on an arsenic-treated play-set would exceed the lifetime cancer risk considered acceptable under federal pesticide law," said Renee Sharp, an analyst for the Environmental Working Group.(2) It can also be absorbed through the skin. People can also inhale arsenic sawdust when working with the wood. Not good news for me after all, I had to cut and sand this wood.

Our children are being exposed to an increased health risk because of arsenic. I will not tolerate it, and I impose that we do something about it. Our children should not be put at risk playing on a playground or in their own backyards. The only reason that this arsenic-treated wood is still used is economics: it is 5 to 10% cheaper than other wood treatments.(3) .

I impose that we should:
Contact our local elected representatives about the unnecessary dangers of living with arsenic in our backyards. Propose mandatory labeling of all arsenic-treated wood, and mandatory warning signs in all stores that sell this wood. Better yet, propose a ban on arsenic-treated lumber.
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

Email the President [email protected]

Write our state or Federal Environmental agencies, make them aware of the dangers of arsenic in pressure treated wood, and tell them that the risk outweighs the benefit since safer alternatives are available.
http://www.envirosite.com/state.html

Get an arsenic test off your backyard done.

Pass this on responsibly to everyone you know. (check out http://www.onlinenetiquette.com/ )