Also in this Issue:

EPA Release from February 12, 2002 - Whitman announces transition from consumer use of treated wood containing arsenic

VIDEO LINK- CNN's Mark Potter looks at CCA -treated wood and its potential health dangers (May 23) (QuickTime, Real or Windows Media)

Your Legal Rights - If you are suffering from side effects due to pressure treated wood exposure Contact James F. Humphreys & Associates, L.C. to learn more about your legal rights and options.

Pressure Treated Wood

Pressure treated wood was introduced in the 1940s as a long-lasting material to be used in decks, fences, retaining walls, picnic tables, docks, and any other wood is exposed to rot, insect attacks, or any other deterioration. As the use of pressure treated wood expanded, children’s playgrounds were made of this wood. The results were impressive to consumers that found their products had a fivefold longer life when treated with the method. The use of pressure treated wood became very widespread, a $4 billion per year industry.

Pressure treated wood occurs when lumber is loaded into a horizontal cylinder that is sealed and a liquid preservative solution is pumped inside. The cylinder pressure is increased so that the preservative is forced into the wood with the excess solution pumped back into a storage tank for reuse. The preservatives contain CCA, chromated copper arsenate, which was patented in 1938. In 1999, the US consumed 71,700 metric tons of CCA. Thirty four percent of CCA is made up of arsenic, a known human carcinogen that is especially dangerous to children.

Arsenic stays on the pressure treated wood surfaces for years and will sometimes come off onto the hands of people that come in contact with it. Despite this, the CCA using industry has also claimed the pressure treated wood was safe. Children are at a greater risk to suffer adverse effects of the human carcinogen because they have a lesser ability to metabolize it. CCA treated wood most often is used for things that involve direct human contact, endangering people and children that come across it.

If you are suffering from side effects due to pressure treated wood exposure Contact James F. Humphreys & Associates, L.C. to learn more about your legal rights and options. For more pressure treated wood alternative options, please consult a hardware store or lumberyard.