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American Morning

Ban on Pressure-Treated Wood Begins Tomorrow

Aired December 30, 2003 - 07:43   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Pressure-treated wood can be found in about 50 million homes across the country. Research now finds, though, that kids who play on structures made from it have a higher risk of getting cancer. So, after tomorrow, Wednesday, production of pressure-treated wood will banned.
Here's Brian Cabell with more in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, playground equipment and decks have been built with a preservative known as chromated copper arsenate, or CCA. It contains arsenic, a carcinogen.

The Environmental Protection Agency, according to a spokesman, has not determined that CCA-treated wood poses significant risk to people, but there is evidence that there may be some elevated risks to children from long-term use.

The lumber industry has agreed to the ban, but downplays the danger. A spokesman says, "Enough studies have been done by the EPA and others that have shown that the arsenic exposure from wood treated with CCA is very small."

David Seitz, vice president of Playnation, a playground equipment builder, says they stopped using CCA-treated wood a couple of years ago.

(on camera): Was your company concerned about the possible health threats?

DAVID SEITZ, VICE PRESIDENT, PLAYNATION: We're a consumer products company, so what we do is we listen to our customers.

CABELL (voice-over): The EPA has advice for homeowners with CCA- treated wood: Keep food out of contact with the wood, such as picnic tables; children playing on the wood should wash their hands before eating; don't burn the wood; and, wear a dust mask, goggles and gloves when working with it.

The ban on CCA-treated wood applies only to homes. It will still be allowed for commercial use. And while production of CCA wood for residential use stops at year's end, it will still be sold in stores until supplies run out. It will be replaced by arsenic-free alternatives.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: So, then, that ban does not address the question of what to do if you already have things made from pressure-treated wood around your house.

From Washington with a few health tips morning, Eric Criss, spokesperson for the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Nice to see you, Eric. Good morning to you.

ERIC CRISS, SPOKESMAN, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: How serious is this?

CRISS: Well, our staff conducted a test, a long-term study, and what we found is a relatively small risk. Essentially, you're looking at numbers between 2 and 100 per million that would face an increased risk over their lifetime, and we're primarily talking there about an increased risk of lung and bladder cancer.

HEMMER: So, are we scaring people for the right reason?

CRISS: We don't want to scare people. What we're telling people is there is reason for concern, but not alarm. What we need to do is follow the basic safety tips, which consumers saw on your screen earlier, and make sure that kids aren't eating on this wood and make sure that we're washing their hands when they're done playing on it.

We're also looking at ways to reduce the amount dislodgeable arsenic, and that includes stains, sealants, paints. We've got a study going on right now, which we hope will be completed in the next year, and what we'd like to do is find something that we can tell consumers, look, if you go out and buy this sealant, apply it, you know, on a regular basis that you can reduce the amount dislodgeable arsenic. And that study should be done in the next 12 months.

HEMMER: What advice are you giving people if they have a home improvement project, if they go into Home Depot or they go into Lowe's, and say give me the untreated wood? What do they ask for?

CRISS: That's correct. This -- as your story mentioned, this wood will be in stores in the consumer stream probably for another six months. So, if a person wants to go into a store, they should simply ask for alternatives to CCA-treated wood when they go in their retail store.

HEMMER: I want to put up a statement we got from a group called the Wood Preservative Science Council, an organization that represents the manufacturers of CCA: "The study fails to appropriately consider the wealth of sound science, which has supported the safe use of CCA pressure treated wood over the past 70 years. The arsenic contained in a bowl of cooked rice is much greater than that associated with playing on a structure constructed of CCA-treated wood." A bowl of cooked rice, is there a point there?

CRISS: Well, there is a point there, and we are telling people that the risk is comparatively low, but that the risk does exist. Arsenic, as many people are not aware, occurs naturally in the air, in some foods and in the soil. And there's a great debate in this country right now about the dangerous -- the danger of arsenic. And all we're simply doing is telling people to take reasonable precautions to help reduce the risk and looking for ways with stain, sealants and paints to possibly reduce the risk in the future.

HEMMER: Just to reiterate, Eric, you mentioned in your second answer there, reduce the hand-to-mouth contact, don't set food on wood, and make sure you wash your hands.

Eric Criss, thanks.

CRISS: OK, thank you.

HEMMER: Appreciate it. Good advice.

CRISS: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Nice to chat with you in D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.







Aired December 30, 2003 - 07:43   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Pressure-treated wood can be found in about 50 million homes across the country. Research now finds, though, that kids who play on structures made from it have a higher risk of getting cancer. So, after tomorrow, Wednesday, production of pressure-treated wood will banned.
Here's Brian Cabell with more in Atlanta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, playground equipment and decks have been built with a preservative known as chromated copper arsenate, or CCA. It contains arsenic, a carcinogen.

The Environmental Protection Agency, according to a spokesman, has not determined that CCA-treated wood poses significant risk to people, but there is evidence that there may be some elevated risks to children from long-term use.

The lumber industry has agreed to the ban, but downplays the danger. A spokesman says, "Enough studies have been done by the EPA and others that have shown that the arsenic exposure from wood treated with CCA is very small."

David Seitz, vice president of Playnation, a playground equipment builder, says they stopped using CCA-treated wood a couple of years ago.

(on camera): Was your company concerned about the possible health threats?

DAVID SEITZ, VICE PRESIDENT, PLAYNATION: We're a consumer products company, so what we do is we listen to our customers.

CABELL (voice-over): The EPA has advice for homeowners with CCA- treated wood: Keep food out of contact with the wood, such as picnic tables; children playing on the wood should wash their hands before eating; don't burn the wood; and, wear a dust mask, goggles and gloves when working with it.

The ban on CCA-treated wood applies only to homes. It will still be allowed for commercial use. And while production of CCA wood for residential use stops at year's end, it will still be sold in stores until supplies run out. It will be replaced by arsenic-free alternatives.

Brian Cabell, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: So, then, that ban does not address the question of what to do if you already have things made from pressure-treated wood around your house.

From Washington with a few health tips morning, Eric Criss, spokesperson for the Consumer Products Safety Commission.

Nice to see you, Eric. Good morning to you.

ERIC CRISS, SPOKESMAN, CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION: Good morning, Bill.

HEMMER: How serious is this?

CRISS: Well, our staff conducted a test, a long-term study, and what we found is a relatively small risk. Essentially, you're looking at numbers between 2 and 100 per million that would face an increased risk over their lifetime, and we're primarily talking there about an increased risk of lung and bladder cancer.

HEMMER: So, are we scaring people for the right reason?

CRISS: We don't want to scare people. What we're telling people is there is reason for concern, but not alarm. What we need to do is follow the basic safety tips, which consumers saw on your screen earlier, and make sure that kids aren't eating on this wood and make sure that we're washing their hands when they're done playing on it.

We're also looking at ways to reduce the amount dislodgeable arsenic, and that includes stains, sealants, paints. We've got a study going on right now, which we hope will be completed in the next year, and what we'd like to do is find something that we can tell consumers, look, if you go out and buy this sealant, apply it, you know, on a regular basis that you can reduce the amount dislodgeable arsenic. And that study should be done in the next 12 months.

HEMMER: What advice are you giving people if they have a home improvement project, if they go into Home Depot or they go into Lowe's, and say give me the untreated wood? What do they ask for?

CRISS: That's correct. This -- as your story mentioned, this wood will be in stores in the consumer stream probably for another six months. So, if a person wants to go into a store, they should simply ask for alternatives to CCA-treated wood when they go in their retail store.

HEMMER: I want to put up a statement we got from a group called the Wood Preservative Science Council, an organization that represents the manufacturers of CCA: "The study fails to appropriately consider the wealth of sound science, which has supported the safe use of CCA pressure treated wood over the past 70 years. The arsenic contained in a bowl of cooked rice is much greater than that associated with playing on a structure constructed of CCA-treated wood." A bowl of cooked rice, is there a point there?

CRISS: Well, there is a point there, and we are telling people that the risk is comparatively low, but that the risk does exist. Arsenic, as many people are not aware, occurs naturally in the air, in some foods and in the soil. And there's a great debate in this country right now about the dangerous -- the danger of arsenic. And all we're simply doing is telling people to take reasonable precautions to help reduce the risk and looking for ways with stain, sealants and paints to possibly reduce the risk in the future.

HEMMER: Just to reiterate, Eric, you mentioned in your second answer there, reduce the hand-to-mouth contact, don't set food on wood, and make sure you wash your hands.

Eric Criss, thanks.

CRISS: OK, thank you.

HEMMER: Appreciate it. Good advice.

CRISS: Thank you very much.

HEMMER: Nice to chat with you in D.C.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.