Florida Medical Experts Confirm
Safety Of CCA-Treated Wood
The Treated Wood Council issued this news release:
For Immediate Release
August 6, 2003
Contact: Mel Pine
703.204.0500 or 703.966.5640
Group Appointed By State Health Department Says "Ordinary
and Customary Use"
in Playgrounds Does Not Harm Children
Fairfax, Virginia, August 6, 2003 - The Florida Physicians Arsenic
Workgroup, a panel of six physicians appointed last year by the Florida
Department of Health, has concluded that "the amount of arsenic that could
be absorbed from playground soil and CCA treated wood is not significant
compared to natural sources and will not result in detectable arsenic
intake." As a result, the physicians note that the level of "arsenic in
or around CCA-treated wood in playgrounds and recreational facilities
does not appear sufficient to adversely affect the health of children
or adults."
The panel of six physicians, which was appointed last year to study the
issue at the request of the Florida Department of Health, noted, "Used
since the 1960s, CCA-treated wood has never been linked to skin diseases
or cancer in children exposed during recreational use." The expert panel
also expressed agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's
statement that "EPA does not recommend consumers replace or remove existing
structures made with CCA-treated wood or the soil surrounding those structures."
"After a year spent reviewing all aspects of CCA-treated wood, this expert
panel of doctors came to a simple conclusion - CCA treated wood is safe
for use in playsets," said Parker Brugge, executive director of the Treated
Wood Council and president of the American Wood Preservers Institute.
"Treated wood has been used safely for nearly 70 years. Based on this
report, parents can be assured that children can safely play on recreational
equipment made of preserved wood."
The Florida Physicians Arsenic Workgroup conducted an extensive review
of the medical literature concerning the toxicity and carcinogenicity
of arsenic, its environmental and natural occurrence, bioaccessibility
and bioavailability, and past medical uses. A copy of its report is available
at http://www.woodpreservativescience.org/reports.shtml.
The panel was comprised of the following experts in medicine and public
health:
Pascual Bidot, M.D., MSPH
Director, Occupational Health
James A. Haley VAMC
Assistant Clinical Professor
University of South Florida
Colleges of Medicine and Public Health
Tampa. FL
Max Rony Francois, M.D., MSPH
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health
University of South Florida College of Public Health
Certified: American Board of Preventive Medicine
Member, U.S. EPA Science Advisory Panel
Joette Giovinco, M.D., MPH
Center for Environmental & Occupational
Risk Assessment and Management
University of South Florida College of Public Health
Certified: American Board of Internal Medicine, American Board of Preventive
Medicine - Occupational Medicine
James V. Hillman, M.D.
President, Medical Toxicology Consultants
Tampa, FL
Certified: American Board of Pediatrics, American Board of Emergency Medicine
David Johnson, M.D., MPH
Chief, Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology
Florida Department of Health
Certified: American Board of Preventive Medicine - Occupational Medicine
Howard M. Weiner, M.D., MPH
West Boca Medical Center
Boca Raton, FL
Certified: American Board of Preventive Medicine, American Board of Internal
Medicine, American Board of Allergy & Immunology
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