| Canada slow to limit the use of chemically treated wood
Health Canada is re-evaluating the use of a chemical used to preserve common commercial wood products, but critics say Canada is moving too slowly and should ban the chemical before it causes more health problems.
The preservative, called chromated copper arsenate (CCA), is found in pressure-treated wood used everywhere from playgrounds to power poles – it somtimes leaves a noticeable light green colour. CCA is used to prevent things like dry rot, mould, and pests, but it contains arsenic, which is suspected to cause several forms of cancer in humans.
Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a division of Health Canada, has acknowledged the danger of CCA, and recently announced it is examining the relevance of its safety standards for all products used in Canada.
The PMRA’s announcement comes near the end of a Canada-wide information campaign spearheaded by Environment Canada and the wood treatment industry. The program is promoting voluntary labelling of all treated wood, from tags on individual pieces of lumber to stickers and signs in hardware stores, and should be completed by spring of this year.
But Deborah Elaine Barrie, a Canadian environmental activist who has been researching the effects of CCA for several years, says the PMRA isn’t doing enough. Barrie is calling for a complete ban of all treated wood in Canada and the U.S. She also wants an information pamphlet sent to every home in North America, detailing the potential dangers of this product.
"You can label all the wood you want, but people do not believe their government will (permit the sale of) a product that could hurt or kill them," she says. "It’s a scary, scary problem."
Although being exposed to CCA while sitting at a picnic table or painting a fence is unlikely, the chemical can leach into the soil, depositing fatal amounts of arsenic.
According to the PMRA, long-term repeated exposure to treated wood is not recommended without taking safety precautions, such as protective clothing and face masks. Burning the wood or using its sawdust and ash is also strongly discouraged.
"That’s all being examined in the re-evaluation – what the exposure level is, and what risk is related to that exposure," says Chris Krepski, a PMRA spokesperson.
The PMRA is also suggesting that wood manufacturers start using alternative kinds of preservatives.
American wood manufacturers and the U.S. government’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are working together on phasing out the residential use of CCA-treated wood. The ban, which will officially begin in January of 2004, will include play structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways. The EPA is not discontinuing the production of CCA-treated wood, just the range of its applications, and wood manufactured before the deadline is exempt from the ban.
Canadian regulators are eyeing a similar agreement.
"We are negotiating with the treated wood industry towards a similar arrangement to the agreement made by the EPA," said Krepski.
Judi Vandenbrink, the energy education coordinator for Clean Calgary, a local environmental awareness organization, also thinks the use of CCA should be banned outright.
"Even if the exposure is minimal, (arsenic) still builds up in your system." she said.
"Why bother using something that is dangerous?"
A local spokesperson for the Sierra Club, a national environmental organization, argues that the Canadian government needs to take more responsibility for the potential hazards of CCA and other dangerous chemicals.
"I think that labelling is grossly inadequate," said Barbara Kinnie, chair of the Sierra Club Chinook Group. "The government appears to always favour industry over health risks." |
