Is Pressure-Treated Wood OK for a Playground?

For more than 60 years, lumber was treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) to help preserve it against insects and rot. Within the last decade or so, this pressure-treated lumber came under scrutiny as studies began to show that arsenic could leach from wood.

Concerns

• Chromium was supposed to lock copper and arsenic inside the wood fibers. However, it failed to work effectively, and arsenic found its way to the surface of pressure-treated wood.

Significance

• Studies have linked arsenic to a number of diseases and cancers, particularly those affecting the bladder and kidneys. Children are especially susceptible through skin and mouth contact with treated wood.

Considerations

• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and wood-treatment manufactures agreed to stop using CCA for the treatment of residential lumber and products that could be used by children. The ruling went into effect in January 2004 but was not retroactive to wood used before that date.

Alternatives

• Non-arsenic materials are now being used to treat woods used in residential and playground equipment. Fixtures built with cedar, redwood or cypress are not likely to contain any chemical treatments, as they naturally resist rot and insects.

Warning

• It is highly probable that wood playground equipment built before 2004 is CCA lumber and contains arsenic.