IKE’s Tom Neltner was skeptical when she called. He knew that treated lumber with a green color was treated with chrome, copper and arsenic. That was why it was called CCA-treated wood. He long avoided its purchase, an increasingly tough task since lumber yards such as Lowes don’t sell safer types. But he did not realize the seriousness of the danger. He was wrong! Unfortunately, he was not alone.

Karen Hensel, an investigative reporter for WISH-TV (Channel 8) in Indianapolis, called Tom. He initially said that he did not think it was a serious issue — the hazard is so obvious that surely EPA was on top of it. Arsenic is a well-known poison and a known carcinogen.

After she showed him reports from Florida that significant amounts of arsenic were leaching into soil around playgrounds with treated lumber, he agreed to help her investigate. He hoped to find no problems. Children were exposed to enough environmental threats already. However, it was better to get the facts than to guess.

NITON Corporation was kind enough to loan IKE a $20,000 instrument called an x-ray fluorescence device that can quantitatively determine the presence of metals such as arsenic and lead in soil and wood. After checking wood, he found that treated lumber typically contained 0.25% to 0.5% of arsenic in the wood — much higher levels than he anticipated.

He also found that the soil around the playground contained seven to 15 times Indiana’s standard of 3.9 ppm. The problem is worse as you get closer to the lumber — precisely where kids are most likely to get the soil or mulch on their hands.

The surprise came when he found that arsenic easily wiped off despite years of weathering. Just a brief walk around an eight-year-old playground handling the rails as you walk will leave arsenic on your hands.

Karen Hensel and the WISH-TV I-Team presented its report on three consecutive nights, July 9 - 11. They did a follow-up for two more nights on July 30 and 31.

As a result of the broadcast, Indy’s own American Analytical Labs stepped forward and agreed to process dust wipe samples for only $13 each. Samples sent in by concerned citizens have a wide range of levels. Most show that about 0.1 mg of arsenic can be wiped off of a square foot of lumber. Symptoms of arsenic poisoning can occur with prolonged daily ingestion to 0.2 mg in a 45 pound child.

As a result of the broadcast, WISH-TV Channel 8 received hundreds of calls and e-mails. One caller said her family burned their backyard deck in a barrel and tilled the ashes into their new vegetable garden now located where the old deck stood. Tom Neltner and Karen Hensel went to the caller’s home and checked it out. The ash contained 290 ppm of arsenic and 160 ppm chrome. Fortunately, only some of the arsenic in the ash, cinders and lumber had leached into the soil. The soil was 16 ppm—about five times the background level. The tomatoes and cucumbers showed less than 2.4 ppm of arsenic.

On the other hand, the barrel showed just how dangerous the lumber is. About 10 gallons of rainwater had accumulated in the 55-gallon barrel. The water contained 73 ppm of arsenic which is 1,200 times the current drinking water standard, and 7,300 times the standard recently supported by the U.S. House of Representatives. If one the boys living in the home had drunk about a pop can of the water, he would probably be dead.

IKE will prepare a report summarizing its analyses.

In the meantime, the investigation raises many questions including:

• Why do retail stores routinely ignore the customer’s right-to-know about the dangers of the products they sell?
• As EPA works to develop standards for use of the CCA treatment over the next six months, will it consider all routes of exposure including drinking water
• Should Indiana simply wait for federal action even when its clean-up standards are exceeded?
• Is labeling enough or should the use of the CCA-treated lumber be strictly limited?