US seeks public comment on proposed limited ban of CCA

13 July 2001 21:03  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (CNI)--The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Friday sought public comment on whether wood treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) should be banned in playground equipment.

Two activist organisations - the Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network - filed a petition with the CPSC in May seeking such a ban.

The two groups charged in their petition that: "Recent research has shown that arsenic is more carcinogenic than previously recognised, that arsenic is present at significant concentrations on CCA-treated wood and in underlying soil, that the health risks posed by this wood are greater than previously recognised, and that past risk assessments were incomplete."

The two groups also asked the commission to re-evaluate the safety of CCA-treated wood used in other products.

In a Federal Register notice published Friday, the CPSC said it is not asking for comment on that request because such a review would not require any formal rulemaking activity.

The commission said its Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction would decide without seeking comment whether to review the use of CCA-treated wood in other products.

By: Glenn Hess
+1 713 525 2653

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