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March 13, 2002 - The announcement
just a few weeks ago by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that
CCA-treated lumber products would be phased out over the next two years
certainly seems like good news. But many questions remain. Questions
like: Did the EPA go far enough? Will the phaseout really protect consumers
and the environment? What about the CCA wood still found on retailer’s
shelves and playgrounds around the country? Is the phaseout really just
an industry sellout?
The EPA’s own documents about the so-called CCA phaseout, or “voluntary
transition”, reveals that many of the more common uses of CCA-treated
lumber will not be allowed after December 31, 2003. This is certainly
good news. These new restrictions include CCA used for “play
structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing,
patios, walkways or boardwalks”. While this
will drastically reduce exposure to CCA’s toxic chemicals, including
arsenic and hexavalent chromium, this does not mean the end for
CCA-treated wood products. Why is that?
First, since the EPA is allowing a “voluntary transition”, rather than
an all-out ban, consumers are allowed to continue to purchase this product
at their local lumber retailer, and handle it at their workplaces. This
leaves the door open for more consumers to be exposed to the chemicals
in CCA- treated wood, perhaps even givng them the impression that it
must be safe, since the government has not banned it outright.
Second, the voluntary transition puts little pressure on the treated
wood industry to rapidly switch to newer arsenic-free alternative chemicals,
such as ACQ. Instead, they have a lengthy grace period to continue to
pedal their poisonous wood to unsuspecting consumers.
Third, export of this toxic product will
still be permitted. A notice posted on the
EPA’s Web site on February 22, 2002 states that ”All distribution,
sale, and use of existing stocks of affected manufacturing-use and end-use
products [listed CCA products} will be unlawful under FIFRA effective
December 31, 2003, except for purposes
of shipping such stocks for relabeling or repackaging, export consistent
with the requirements of section 17 of FIFRA, or proper disposal.“
Clearly, this export loophole permits the CCA lumber manufacturers to
continue to ship this product outside the United States, where the environmental
pressure and laws are less stringent. Countries like Canada, Australia,
and others will become the secondary market for new and overstocked
CCA wood. CCA will live on overseas, just like other banned pesticide
products such as DDT.
Continued production of CCA wood means that the CCA chemical formula
will continue to be manufactured and distributed. Chemical spills, such
as the recent CCA spill that has damaged the African Port of Djibouti
(see the News section) and the arsenic spill that occurred in Chattanooga,
Tenessee, will remain a real threat.
Finally, the most shocking fact of all is that not
all CCA wood products are being voluntarily phased out.
The February 22nd notice points out several types of CCA wood products
that will still be allowed, even after the cutoff date of December 31,
2003. Note what the EPA notice says:
“This product may only be used for preservative treatment of the
following categories of forest products: Lumber and Timber for Salt
Water Use Only (C2), Piles (C3), Poles (C4), Plywood (C9), Wood for
Highway Construction (C14), Poles, Piles and Posts Used as Structural
Members on Farms, and Plywood Used on Farms (C16), Wood for Marine Construction
(C18), Round Poles and Posts Used in Building Construction (C23), Sawn
Timber Used To Support Residential and Commercial Structures (C24),
Sawn Crossarms (C25), Structural Glued Laminated Members and Laminations
Before Gluing (C28), Structural Composite Lumber (C33), and Shakes and
Shingles (C34)”.
That’s quite an extensive list of exceptions, especially considering
that alternative chemicals are now available that can replace CCA altogether.
However, two important exceptions in the list above will ensure that
CCA will be around for years to come. The first is “Wood for Highway
Construction”, which would include the CCA-treated wood posts used to
support guardrails along our highways. There are miles and miles of
these CCA wood posts along our interstate highways alone.
The second one is “Poles, Piles and Posts Used as Structural Members
on Farms”, which would seem to include all varieties of fence posts,
one of the more common CCA-treated wood products. Why would the EPA
ban CCA from residential uses, but permit CCA-treated wood for use on
the farm? Did they not read about how farm animals were being harmed
by chewing on CCA wood? Do they not realize that farmers have to handle
CCA-treated fence posts to install them on the farm? Is the exposure
of farmers to deadly pesticides, such as the arsenic in CCA, less deserving
of the EPA’s concern? What about the leaching of arsenic into soil on
our farmlands?
Keeping CCA available out on the farm will ensure the continued stockpiling
of CCA posts, poles, and the CCA chemical itself. Aged CCA wood will
continue to be a disposal problem, as new fence posts and guardrails
are installed under this exemption. In fact, the CCA posts of 2004 will
be the disposal nightmare of 2030.
So, is this phaseout just a sellout? Yes, it most certainly is. Moreover,
until the EPA addresses the CCA problem completely-with an outright
ban on the CCA product- we can rest assured that CCA, and the arsenic
and chromium that leach from CCA-treated wood, will be with us for many
years to come.
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