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December
20, 2002 - Since Beyond Pesticides and others filed a lawsuit to ban
the three most hazardous and widely used wood preservatives on December
10, 2002, two major institutions of the wood preservatives industry
have fallen.
First, on December 13, the American Wood Preservatives Institute (AWPI),
the national industry trade association representing the pressure-treated
wood industry, announced that it would be laying off all of its employees
and handing operations over to a management firm. In a memo to AWPI
members, Parker Brugge, President of AWPI, cited finances and lack of
cooperation from AWPI's insurers. See today's Photo
Story.
Then,
on December 16, the Kerr-McGee Corporation, the nation's largest creosote
producer, announced that it would be leaving the forest products business
and closing at least four of its five forest products plants immediately.
The company is in talks regarding the fifth plant, located in Dalles,
Oregon, which is leased from Union Pacific Corporation. Options at the
site include a continuation of operations for the term of the lease,
through Nov. 30, 2004, or selling the leasehold interest.
Joining
Beyond Pesticides on the lawsuit filed in Federal District Court, are
the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Center for Environmental
Health, and a victim family from Florida. The complaint seeks to stop
the continued use of the wood preservatives chromated copper arsenate
(CCA), commonly used in pressure-treated lumber and utility poles; pentachlorophenol
(penta), used most commonly in utlility poles; and creosote, used most
commonly in railroad ties.
The lawsuit charges that the chemicals, known carcinogenic agents, hurt
utility workers exposed to treated poles, children playing near treated
structures, and the environment, and cites the availability of alternatives.
The groups say that EPA has overwhelming data on the wood preservatives'
health and environmental risks and is aware of widely available and
economically viable alternatives that compel the agency to stop use,
rather than continue reviews that have gone on for over 20 years.
The groups cite high cancer risks from exposure to treated wood, contaminated
soil and worker risks. They say that the voluntary action to remove
certain uses of arsenic-treated wood, announced by the wood preservers
and EPA in February, 2002, does not offer sufficient public, worker
and environmental protection and only affects a small portion of the
pesticide-treated wood in use. The lawsuit also cites EPA's test results
that indicate that continued disposal of treated wood in municipal landfills
does not provide necessary protection and violates EPA's hazardous waste
regulations. Beyond Pesticides has filed a separate petition urging
EPA to reclassify pesticide-treated wood waste as hazardous, citing
requirements in law.
The three wood preservatives targeted by the lawsuit are linked to a
wide range of health problems including cancer, birth defects, kidney
and liver damage, disruption of the endocrine system and death. In fact,
two of the components of CCA, arsenic and chromium (VI), are classified
as known human carcinogens. Penta, classified as a probable carcinogen
and a known endocrine disruptor in its own right, is contaminated with
dioxins that the National Institutes of Health has classified as known
human carcinogens. Creosote, a mix of toxic chemicals, is a cancer-causing
agent and is neurotoxic.
EPA has calculated that children exposed to soil contaminated with penta
leaching out of utility poles face a risk of cancer that is 220 times
higher than the agency's acceptable level. According to EPA's own data,
a typical worker who paints penta onto poles in the field faces more
than a 100% lifetime risk of cancer. Other categories of workers, such
as utility pole installers, also face risks many times above EPA's "acceptable"
level. The practice of allowing the disposal of treated wood in unlined
dumps or its recycling into mulch is exacerbating contamination and
risk factors, according to the lawsuit.
© Copyright 2002 Beyond Pesticides All Rights Reserved
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