Daily News Archive
Maine Bans Sale
of Arsenic-Treated Wood, Expedites Federal Phase-Out
(Beyond Pesticides,
June 5, 2003) Maine
became the first state to ban sales of arsenic-treated wood for residential
use after legislators passed a bill entitled An Act To Protect Public
Health by Reducing Human Exposure to Arsenic (H-490)
June 4, 2003.This is a compromise version of a bill that was introduced
in the state Senate and would have banned all arsenic-treated wood, except
that labeled for use in water (LD
1309). Despite the opposing force of the lumber and wood treatment
industry, Maine legislators passed the bill in an effort to close loopholes
in federal regulations of arsenic-treated wood. The legislation was agreed
to by the Joint Standing Committee on Natural Resources and is expected
to be signed by the Governor.
The bill was spurred
by the danger that chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood poses
to health and the environment. Leaching of arsenic and chromium from CCA-treated
wood is well documented, and can lead to human exposure to these chemicals
by direct contact with the wood itself. A study, All
Hands on Deck, conducted by the Environmental Working Group, examines
samples wiped from CCA-treated wood surfaces, collected from an area about
size of a four-year old child's hands. In one quarter of the samples,
the amount of arsenic wiped off the surface was at least three times the
10 micrograms EPA drinking water limit. Humans can also be exposed by
contact with soil surrounding CCA-treated structures, where chemical leaching
is also documented. Children are at heightened risk of exposure considering
their well-documented frequency of hand-to-mouth behavior. According to
the October, 2001 EPA Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP) recommendation,
children have an average of 9.5 hand-to-mouth activities per hour for
an average of 1-3 hours of play activity.
In February 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reached
an agreement with chemical manufacturers to phase out the manufacture
of CCA-treated wood for residential purposes, such as decks and patios,
picnic tables, playground equipment, walkways/ boardwalks, landscaping
timbers, and fencing, by December 31, 2003. (See
68 FR 17366, April 9, 2003) The Maine law will expedite the federal
agreement by prohibiting the sale of all residential uses, as outlined
by EPA, by April 1, 2004. Under the federal agreement, already existing
residential CCA-treated wood and structures may continue to be sold and
used, and could be stockpiled and sold for years to come, or even imported
from overseas, according to Michael Belliveau of the Environmental Health
Strategy Center.
Earlier, legislation
was introduced that would have banned the sale of all arsenic-treated
wood, except arsenic treated wood uses that are "intended solely
for uses in direct continuous contact with salt water or fresh water."
The new language, agreed to with the Assembly, instructs the Department
of Environmental Protection to complete a market evaluation of the remaining
uses of arsenic treated wood by January 1, 2004. lt also authorizes the
Natural Resources Committee of the Legislature in 2004 to introduce a
bill to phase out the remaining uses of arsenic-treated wood.
The new law also does
the following:
•by January 1,
2004, the Bureau of Health must develop an informational brochure on what
home owners should know about arsenic hazards from well water and treated
wood, including the need to coat treated wood with a sealant on an annual
basis to reduce arsenic exposure; for private home sales, sellers must
provide this information to buyers; for sales assisted by a real estate
agent, voluntary measures are being taken to educate buyers, sellers and
agents about arsenic hazards in water and wood
• by January
1, 2005, the Department of Environmental Protection must develop a plan
to restrict the disposal of arsenic treated wood in unlined landfills
and its burning as a fuel in wood-fired (“biomass”) power plants
The Senate bill, which was replaced by H-490, specified CCA-treated wood as hazardous waste, a designation that federal law has avoided. There is currently no national standard procedure for properly disposing CCA-treated wood. While this represents an out-of-pocket savings for the utility industry in the short-term, it represents a real hazard to communities with associated long-term cleanup costs. The Electrical Power Research Institute estimates that "by avoiding the hazardous waste designation, the utility industry saved $15 billion between 1989 and 1993."
While the new law was introduced to raise public awareness of the danger of treated wood, and put in place in order to restrict human exposures to toxic chemicals, the lumber industry tried its best to keep the bill from passing. Rick Baumgarten, chairman of the board of directors of the National Lumber & Building Materials Dealers Association, lobbied heavily against the bill, stating fears of the wood are overblown. "Arsenic is a buzzword," he said. "[Environmental groups] just scare the living daylights out of mommies." In actuality, the routes of exposure to arsenic from treated wood are well documented, as is the toxicity of this dangerous chemical. Arsenic is a known human carcinogen with a plethora of acute effects including eye irritation, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, characteristic skin lesions, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart function, blood vessel damage, liver and/ or kidney damage, and impaired nerve function causing a "pins-and needles" feeling. See Beyond Pesticides CCA ChemWATCH fact sheet for more information about the toxicity of arsenic, chromium and copper.
Beyond Pesticides is currently involved in a lawsuit against EPA to ban CCA and other wood treatment chemicals. For more information on this and other issues related to pressure treated wood including playground equipment, see Beyond Pesticides' Wood Preservative Program Page.