Pressure Treated Wood - Poisonous?

Family Health & Wellness

Question: We have a wood deck where we spend a lot of time outdoors. I heard that pressure-treated wood can be poisonous. How can I tell if mine is, and what can I do about it?

Christine Climer responds: Pressure-treated wood does sometimes contain a preservative called chromated copper arsenate (CCA) -- this means arsenic. Arsenic is a poison and has also been linked with the development of certain types of cancer. When your child touches CCA-treated wood with his hands, arsenic residue sticks to his skin. Then if he puts fingers in his mouth or touches food, he ingests the arsenic.

Walking through your local home improvement store’s lumber department, you may have noticed some wood carries an interesting green tint. That green color is CCA. Many stores no longer carry CCA-treated woods, and the lumber industry has agreed voluntarily to phase out CCA treatment of wood intended for residential use. Other non-arsenic chemicals are available instead. So if you are building a new structure, arsenic exposure is likely to be less of an issue.

Read the full article.

© Christine Climer.

NFO Your Family’s Health Editor Christine Climer is a registered nurse with experience in pulmonary disease, pediatrics, home health and hospice services. See more about Christine.

Comments

[Rebecca]

I want to buy my 2 year old daughter one of those big wooden play sets for our backyard. But, someone told me not to buy it, because of the CCA treatment. How do I know which playsets don't have the treatment or anyother toxins that will get to my child?

[Idetrorce]

very interesting, but I don't agree with you
Idetrorce

[Ajlouny]

Can you strip all that CCA treatment off of your wood structure? I know it's using more chemicals ultimately, just a question to throw out there.