Arsenic Laced Wood example essay topic

270 words
Arsenic -laced wood is a widely used type of lumber used to build wooden decks and playgrounds. Starting at the end of 2003, this wood will be phased out of production. Arsenic, along with other chemicals, is broadly used as an additive in pressure-treated lumber by do-it-yourselfers to assemble decks, fences, and playgrounds. Only, the accepted wood has come under fire recently among reports that arsenic from the wood can transfer from the wood to children's hands as they play on playgrounds and decks. Investigations also showed that arsenic spreads from the contaminated wood to surrounding soil. Now, since wood theaters are facing lawsuits, made a deal with the Environmental Protection Agency to phase out chromate d copper arsenate (CCA) in outdoor consumer products, which is an arsenic-laced preservative.

Currently the EPA is analyzing CCA because it also is known to rub off pressure treated woods. The EPA will continue their evaluation on consumer health risks involved with CCA. Only, as of now, the EPA has not concluded that CCA treated lumber is harmless to consumers. To fully understand this article, one may need to know chemicals and how they react with humans. These events occurring involving the lumber could affect my community because many places around my area are built of wood, and if they are arsenic, they could harm the people near the area. Personally, I think people are making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is, but also I don't know how arsenic wood or the chemicals from the wood affects the body.