Posted on 11/17/2010 5:10:00 AM PST by TSgt
The deck, if it was built before 2004, is likely made of wood that contains enough chemicals to kill you. And you can still buy that lumber. It's called CCA Treated Wood. Local 12's Rich Jaffe looks at the poison planks upon which one family's disastrous dreams are built.
Ten years ago, in the hills of Indiana, the McGuire family began building their dream home... but in months, their dream turned into a disaster which may eventually cost them their lives. Says Arthur McGuire, "This is a national issue, this ain't a Ripley County, Indiana issue, it ain't an Artie and Connie McGuire issue, this is a national issue."
The issue is arsenic a known poison and carcinogen. More than 80 percent of the treated wood manufactured in this country prior to December 2003 was treated with a process called CCA. Chromated copper arsenate... it's also called salt treated, or wolmanized. While effective, the preservatives are highly toxic. Experts say a 12 foot long CCA board contains enough arsenic to kill 250 people.
The McGuire family built their massive deck, entirely with CCA treated lumber. They also used it inside, framing the home. The McGuires had no idea that with every cut, they were exposing themselves to the poison within. "We'd learned in 2003 that arsenic was used in the wood by a tag but after calling the manufacturer, the retailer and the chemical company it was told to us it was no harm, no danger...so we never thought no more of it."
But that was 2003. Construction started in 2000... and within a year Arthur McGuire was critically ill. "I started passing out, numerous nose bleeds, severe headaches, loss of vision, loss of feeling in my hands and feet, would get numb around my mouth and nose...loss of hair...and October 2001 I was put on 24 hour care."
Two and a half months later, the McGuire's 16 year old son was in the hospital with a heart attack and other family members were sick as well. Says Connie McGuire, "Little things was going on with me, I just thought was normal, but Artie kept getting worse and I would get a little bit worse... then this happened with my son, I had no idea what to face next."
Confronted by a growing medical mystery, in 2006 doctors discovered extremely high levels of arsenic in the McGuires blood, urine and tissue samples. State and county officials like Wayne Peace were called in for testing. "We noticed some kittens, and it was a rainy day, and there was water puddles on the deck and they were drinking the water, and they looked pretty sick, I even made a comment about it."
Tests showed the McGuire's deck boards contained arsenic levels thousands of times higher than those allowed in humans. Toxic salts can still be seen on the decking. During construction the McGuires tracked the poison into their home. Once the roof was up they cut wood inside... blowing toxic sawdust into every crevice. They used wood scraps for campfires, cooking over them, not knowing the poisonous smoke could destroy their lungs and stomachs.
In December of 2003 under a threatened ban from the EPA, CCA manufacturers voluntarily agreed to stop making it for residential use... however they still minimize the risk. The Wood Preservative Science Council says "Studies have established that the potential level of arsenic exposure from CCA-treated wood is significantly lower than the levels adults and children are exposed to each day from background sources such as food and drinking water. It is important to keep in mind that the arsenic component of CCA is complexed within the wood itself and is intended to remain within the wood."
But it doesn't... it leaches out.
While the industry agreed to the ban in 2003 of CAA treated lumber for residential uses, we found that wood treated with the same poisonous chemicals is still readily available. It's sold as posts and timbers...even advertised as "CCA" but it's supposed to carry warning labels. We checked these posts at two Indiana stores, many had no warning labels at all, and clerks were unaware of any dangers with the toxic timbers.
The U.S. EPA tells me while they regulate the "pesticide, preservative product..." meaning the arsenic, the "treated articles" meaning the posts...are "exempted from regulation." The industry is supposed to do that. "The same that went on in 2000, 2001 all the while we was building this is the same thing going on today. Wood is being sold made of CCA chemicals, no end tags on it,no consumer awareness program given out to the public that was agreed upon, and if there's no information out there how does the consumer know not only what he's buying but what precautions to take?"
Health experts allowed the McGuires to live in their basement. The rest of their dream home is sealed off... resting above their heads as a tragic reminder of what could have been and what is. "Ten years from now Artie and I could both be diagnosed with some sort of cancer we just don't know what the effects are we're gonna have with it...but this was our home, and arsenic took it from us."
County health departments can test for arsenic. If your deck was built before 2004, seal it each year and never use acid washes. Do not burn treated lumber - a teaspoon of CCA wood ash could kill a person.
LOL, that ought to be a quote of the day!
SAVE US BIG GOBERMENT!!! HELP US, THE DECK is ..... ALIVE!!!!
More than 80 percent of the treated wood manufactured in this country prior to December 2003 was treated with a process called CCA. Chromated copper arsenate... it’s also called salt treated, or wolmanized.
They sawed the stuff inside and cooked over it!
Did a building inspector look at the framing?
I’m 71, used pressure treated wood for years, raised 5 children around it and never saw any such thing. You could buy it at any lumber yard. I think there’s something hinky about this article. This guys property wasn’t threatened by the rising ocean too, was it?
Click the link and watch the video.
Methinks he ain’t too bright.
Hold muh 2x4, etc...
My son in law has a power cleaner that he used on the house. He used it on the deck, too. Was that okay??
So it was prior to 03. Im safe. Haha. Of course I didn’t use it to cook with, just to put patio furniture on.
Before 2004? Were George Washington’s dentures made of this stuff?
I have told a few people through the years not to make picnic table tops using CCA lumber. Also if one does burn CCA wood,not only the smoke but the ashes are toxic.
I’ve burned CCA outside many times. I just don’t cook over it and don’t stand in the way of the smoke. :)
I did too. Cedar siding, wood decking. Of course, I used to siphon gas with a hose using mouth suction and cleaned car parts in a pan of gas. And now I work at nuclear power plants.
It’s what makes the wood look green. If your planks aren’t green they weren’t treated with CCA, but with an alternative.
>> I have told a few people through the years not to make picnic table tops using CCA lumber
I glued up some scraps and turned salad bowls out of ‘em on the lathe. I guess I should throw those away then? ;-)
Bicycle chain....gasoline of course. I watched my dad do the gas siphon bit
So now they're promoting naturally rot resistant woods, like Ipe -- an expensive, very dense, strong material from Brazil. So much for rain forests.
All woods have toxins to some degree, more rot resistant woods contain more of these chemical "extractives." What do they think makes the wood resistant to mold and bacteria?
Though not a deck wood, Black Walnut is rated as rot resistant. When dried in a kiln, the will exude sap and water. This by-product is extremely toxic.
Come to think of it, have you ever noticed how clear the ground is around the umbrella of a walnut tree? Very few things seem to want to grow there.
I would hate to see a house framed with that stuff. It is sold green, and shrinks and curls when it dries.
You could throw the bowls away or use them as helmets. Have fun!
They were green when they were first installled. Yuck.
It was banned after 2003.
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