{"id":109803,"date":"2009-12-28T20:00:41","date_gmt":"2009-12-29T01:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.blisstree.com\/?p=137288"},"modified":"2009-12-28T20:00:41","modified_gmt":"2009-12-29T01:00:41","slug":"hidden-danger-%e2%80%93-arsenic-treated-wood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/109803","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Danger \u2013 Arsenic Treated Wood"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Right now, before spring shows up and before kids spend more time outside, you should start thinking about your wooden outdoor products and consider if they&#8217;re safe or if they&#8217;re hiding a hidden danger.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-137293\" src=\"http:\/\/images1.blisstree.com\/files\/2009\/12\/arsenic-treated-wood.jpg\" alt=\"arsenic treated wood\" width=\"590\" height=\"391\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Arsenic used to be a common additive in wooden outdoor products because it does act as a preservative. However, as you may have guessed arsenic is no good from a safety standpoint. Arsenic is a deadly poison and a known cause of cancer. Arsenic is linked to skin, bladder, liver and lung cancers and reproductive hazards, disrupts adenosine tri-phosphate (ATP) which is vital for normal body functions, causes weakened immune system along with weak liver function and bowel disease (to name a few). Worse, arsenic can leave your system once in your body but it can also be transported and stored in your body, affecting internal organs and your hair, nails, and skin.<\/p>\n<p>The health implications alone should freak you out, but arsenic is also no picnic for the planet, polluting the food chain, soil, air, and water which of course means it makes its way back to humans.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can companies really use arsenic in wood? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In 2004 the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) decided (finally) to stop companies from manufacturing or selling <a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthybuilding.net\/arsenic\/index.html\">arsenic-treated wood<\/a> for most residential uses BUT just because it was banned doesn&#8217;t mean it&#8217;s not around. In fact if you have a wooden deck or play area for the kids that&#8217;s older than 2004 it could easily contain arsenic.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.healthybuilding.net\/index.html\">Healthy Building Network<\/a> any of the following, if older may contain arsenic&#8230;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>decks<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> fences<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> building foundations<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> boat docks<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> playground equipment<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> picnic tables<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em> other wood products where the wood must be protected from decay<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The most common arsenic found in US based wooden products is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.epa.gov\/oppad001\/reregistration\/cca\/cca_qa.htm\">Chromated Copper Arsenate<\/a> (CCA).<\/p>\n<p><strong>PROTECT YOUR FAMILY: <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sensafe.com\/481396-W.php\">Order A Home Arsenic Testing Kit<\/a> &#8211; this will allow you to test the wood you already have. If you do have arsenic treated wood you should seriously consider getting rid of it. When you get new wooden outdoor products make sure you get untreated wood that&#8217;s naturally rot resistant like cedar and redwood or choose a non-wood alternative like metal or composite materials. There are also some safer preservatives on the market nowadays.<\/p>\n<p><em>If you can&#8217;t get rid of your arsenic treated products do the following&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>If you can only afford to replace some wood, replace the wood your family is in contact with the most. I.e. hand rails, the play set, and so on.<\/li>\n<li>Seal penetrating deck treatment, latex paint, or polyurethane annually.<\/li>\n<li>Do not have your wood deck or other wood items cleaned with a power pressure cleaner &#8211; these can blast arsenic right off wood and into your air and nearby soil.<\/li>\n<li>Obviously don&#8217;t sand arsenic treated wood.<\/li>\n<li>Have your kids wash up well after playing on their play set or with other wood products. Studies show that simply washing well can remove arsenic from hands.<\/li>\n<li>Never allow anyone to eat at a picnic table that&#8217;s been shown to have arsenic in it. Sure you can use a tablecloth, but people tend to touch the table as they eat.<\/li>\n<li>Don&#8217;t let kids play in the soil or sand below or around arsenic treated wood structures.<\/li>\n<li>NEVER burn treated wood. Burning releases the arsenic into the air and just one tablespoon of ash from a CCA wood fire contains a lethal does of arsenic &#8211; so if your kids or a clean-up crew came into contact with it, they could be seriously hurt. The EPA notes, &#8220;<em>Homeowners should never burn CCA-treated wood or use it as compost or mulch. CCA-treated wood can be disposed of with regular municipal trash (i.e., municipal solid waste, not yard waste). Homeowners should contact the appropriate state and local agencies for further guidance on the disposal of CCA-treated wood.<\/em>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also remember to think outside of your own home. Older parks can have arsenic treated wood play structures and tables as can your friends homes. Make sure kids (and you) wash up well after a day with an unknown wood source.<\/p>\n<p>[image via stock.xchng]<\/p>\n<p>Post from: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.blisstree.com\">Blisstree<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.blisstree.com\/articles\/hidden-danger-arsenic-treated-wood\/\">Hidden Danger &#8211; Arsenic Treated Wood<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Right now, before spring shows up and before kids spend more time outside, you should start thinking about your wooden outdoor products and consider if they&#8217;re safe or if they&#8217;re hiding a hidden danger. Arsenic used to be a common additive in wooden outdoor products because it does act as a preservative. However, as you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":141,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-109803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/141"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=109803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/109803\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=109803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=109803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=109803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}