I always appreciate the balanced approach to these kinds of things, so thanks to Jack. AND I'm not one for waiting for science to "prove" effects about some obvious risks. Basic intelligence and intuition tells me that arsenic, which we know is lethal, is probably not good for children and other living things to handle.
Not to mention that NO ONE is doing research on the cumulative effects of the chemicals we encounter. So, a child has a wee bit of "not so dangerous levels" of arsenic in its blood.... plus chlorine from tap water, plus carbon monoxide from air, plus food colorings, preservatives, pesticides, plus hormones in meat and milk, plus and plus and plus. There's a point where the "need" for proof is shooting ourselves in the foot, and gives time for corporations to continue the profit scam. If it's poisonous, it's poisonous. Pretty packaging and official statements don't fly with me. Tell the Truth Demand Justice What else is there to do? Paco Verin Citywide Project Coordinator - Philadelphia Green The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society 100 N. 20th St. Philadelphia, PA 19103 215-988-8885 http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org -----Original Message----- From: Jack Hale [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 4:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: RE: [cg] Just In Case You Thought Treated Wood Was OK For Garden Uses Hi all- Although I have no love for CCA or pressure treated lumber, this sounds like bogus science. Or at least blowing things out of proportion. We need to be careful how we handle this kind of "information." Bad information is way more dangerous than pressure treated lumber. Here's what I'm thinking. - one-in-a-million used to mean incredibly rare. 2-in-a-million seems like about the same. 100 in a million is bigger, but a pretty small number. It equals 1 in 10,000. The chance of a resident being murdered here in Hartford in just the next year alone is about 1 in 3,000. I know, I know, there are some other risk factors like being young, minority, and male and involved in drugs, but it's just to give a sense of scale. Does anybody want to figure out what the relationship is between the cancer risk of playing on a pressure treated playground to some other behaviors? - It appears that this report is the result of a mathematical model. Somebody had to make a lot of guesses about how much CCA gets on a person's hands during play, how much gets transferred to mouth, and what impact that might have when extrapolated to a million kids. They didn't refer to any specific evidence of a link between such play and actual cancer cases. Admittedly, these folks have some pretty high-end Oija boards, but I wouldn't bet the ranch on their results. - Nonetheless, I like their advice. Teach your kids to keep their hands out of their mouths, and to wash their hands after they play outside. It probably wouldn't be a bad idea to hose off the playground equipment every once in a while too, or even scrub it with soap. At least it would remove some of the pigeon droppings. I don't have any particular love for CCA, but I have even less love for seeing my friends stampeded by this kind of stuff. The real big battle for the health of our children is in our gardens and our schools and our city halls and in Washington and in our own homes. We need to be vigilant and careful, but we also need to maintain a sense of balance. From what I hear lately, for example, the impact of the Bush "No Child Left Behind" plan on the stability of local schools may well far surpass the impact of all the pressure treated playgrounds on the continent. JH Jack N. Hale Executive Director Knox Parks Foundation 75 Laurel Street Hartford, CT 06106 860/951-7694 f860/951-7244 -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, February 10, 2003 3:41 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [cg] Just In Case You Thought Treated Wood Was OK For Garden Uses Friends, This came across Associated Press. Now while I have difficulty believing much of what I hear from the US government, for an announcement like this to come out in the middle of this Conservative, pro-business administration is significant. I forward this to you for your "evidence" file, the next time somebody tells you there's a sale on treated wood at the nearby Wall Mart, and wouldn't you like to use it for your garden? Best wishes, Adam Honigman Playground Equipment May Pose Cancer Risk By DAVID HO .c The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) - Children could face an increased lifetime risk of developing lung or bladder cancer from using playground equipment made of wood treated with arsenic, the nation's top product safety official said Friday. Almost all wood playground equipment now in use has been treated with a pesticide called chromated copper arsenate, said Hal Stratton, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. He said children can get arsenic residue from the treated wood on their hands and then put their hands in their mouths. Stratton said the agency's scientists recommend that parents and caregivers thoroughly wash children's hands with soap and water immediately after youngsters play on playground equipment made of the treated wood. Children also should not eat while on the equipment, he said. The safety agency will hold a public meeting next month to consider a proposed ban on the arsenic-based preservative in playground equipment. Advocacy groups petitioned for a ban in 2001. Last year, preservative manufacturers agreed with the Environmental Protection Agency to stop using the chemical in new wood playsets and other consumer products by December 2003. An EPA report on the risks of the pressure-treated wood is expected later this year. To figure a child's cancer risk from treated playground equipment, researchers considered factors including how much arsenic is released from wood, the amount picked up on hands and transferred to the mouth and the time a child spends with the equipment. Researchers said an average child visits playgrounds three times each week. The study found that for every 1 million kids exposed to the treated wood that frequently during early childhood, two to 100 of them might develop lung or bladder cancer later in life because of that exposure. This increase is in addition to other risks of getting cancer. The range of risk is large because of differing estimates of how likely arsenic is to cause cancer, agency spokesman Ken Giles said. Some of the data came from studies in Taiwan, where there are higher levels of arsenic in drinking water. Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer; bladder cancer is more rare. The greatest risk factor for both is smoking. Mike Casey, a spokesman for the Environmental Working Group, one of the groups seeking a ban, said the study supports their position that the treated wood is dangerous. Wood preservatives containing arsenic and dioxin have been increasingly targeted as unsafe by advocacy groups. Those preservatives have been commonly used in utility poles, wood decks and playgrounds. The safety commission did not study other products because the ban petition only involved playgrounds, Stratton said. Arsenic, both manufactured and naturally occurring, is known to cause cancer, but the preservative industry has said the arsenic-based preservative has never been linked to skin disease or cancer in children and its wood is safe when used properly. The safety commission and the EPA are studying ways to coat treated wood with a sealant to prevent arsenic from coming through. EPA began requiring consumer warning labels on treated lumber containing arsenic in 2001. On the Net: Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://www.cpsc.gov Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov 02/10/03 07:25 EST Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. 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