RE: Getting Information Out

[Karsten A. Rist <ristck@aol.com>]

I would like to bring up an issue here which has come to my attention just a few weeks ago. The issue is CCA treated wood. I have learned that CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate) treated wood, (it generally has a greenish color when you see it in the lumber yard)has been on the market for a little more than ten years and is now turning up in the waste stream. It is creating major problems. We really should not burn such wood because of the emissions the treatment chemicals create. There is also a problem underneath CCA treated wood after it has been installed, because the chemicals leach from the wood into the ground and tend to stay there. You would not want small children to play underneath a CCA treated wooden deck, for instance. It is my understanding that the retailers should have made an information sheet available when selling CCA treated wood. I have never seen such information sheets. At this point information about the problems with CCA treated wood are just slowly emerging. What went wrong ? Should we have ever used CCA treated wood in the first place ? Why have I never seen any warnings about these products at the lumber yard ? Is this an issue the EPA should have been involved in ?

Karsten A. Rist