Hit the Dirt; No Pressure Treated Wood

Good morning. This is Sally for hit the dirt at this time of year. Plans are being made for constructing raised beds cold frames composting decks arbors fences playground equipment and other garden structures. What materials will you be using. If you're thinking of pressure treated wood don't. A few years ago I took a master gardener course and a handout recommended the use of pressure treated wood as one material to construct a compost heap. I questioned this and was told that there was no danger to using that material. Well I think to differ wood treated with toxic chemicals that are harmful to people and pets does not belong in the garden and around the house. In the other 1990s Organic Gardening magazine caused quite a stir in the treated wood industry by condemning the use of CCH chromium copper and arsenic treated wood in organic gardens and was accused of economic disruption of the industry. In 1994 the magazine published another article reaffirming the toxicity of treated wood. This was followed by many that is to the editor one for instance drawing attention to the EPA approved consumer safety information sheet which you're supposed to get when purchasing such

lumber that states that CC a treated would or should not be used in structures used for storing food. That hands should be washed out to contact with the ward. A dust mask should be used when sawing the wood and the clothes coming in contact with the saw dust should be washed separately. Organic Gardening hasn't stopped their research. In a recent edition of organic gardening the magazine reaffirms its stand on CC a treated wood based on credible scientific evidence. Research done at the Connecticut Agricultural experimental station in New Haven by analytical chemists. David still Ph.D. and catcher Gorney found that soil under decks of CCs would contain up to 80 times more arsenic than in the surrounding soil. And that is 35 times the legal limit. If this happens in your raised vegetable beds your crops especially root crops will absorb the arsenic. According to the United States a toxicological profile a public health document the average American adult is consuming three times the minimal risk levels of arsenic in their food and water. And with four

billion board feet of sea CA wood being sold each year in the U.S. there is still more arsenic being leached into our soils and water supplies inhaled rubbed on the skin and ingested by children sucking on those last forever swing sets and jungle gyms. This is not acceptable and there is something you can do about it. If you're concerned about what around your home if at all possible replace it and have the saw all around and beneath it tested for us Nic. If the amount is high and you want to go a step further file for damage against both the company that produces the wood and the company that sells it. Why. Because most of the propaganda put out by the producers maintains that the material is safe. Except around food. Go to your local building supplies company and ask for brochures on CC I would ask for an EPA Material Safety Data Sheet on so you ca would ask about alternatives. Ask an employee about the safety of using the word I did. There were no brochures no MSDS sheets. I downloaded one and found that the e pair PSA has reduced

its warnings. Could this be powerful lobbying and the general feeling was that they being the manufacturers say the board is quite safe to use. There was a brochure for Kodiak Brown preserve board which claims that it is environmentally safe although an MSDS on the chemical used warns to in void ahead inhaling contact with the eyes and skin and that it has slight health hazards. A brochure for tracks of wood polymer lumber States it to be no more toxic than untreated wood. This could be used as an alternative but the safest alternative is untreated wood Sita spruce or whatever your budget allows. As to the CCI treated ward if you find brochures claiming it's safety for them to the state attorney general's office and asked that action be initiated against treated wood companies to prevent them from claiming the safety of CC I would write to the EPA urging them to ban the use of CCI wood for decks gardens and playground equipment. Send your letter to

Ms Carol Browner administrator U.S. EPA for a 1 M Street Southwest 1 0 1 1. Washington DC 2 0 4 1 1. That Miss Carol Browner administrator U.S. EPA 4 0 1 M Street Southwest 1 0 1 1 Washington DC 2 0 4 1 1. One letter at a time can turn into many. This is Sally for hit the dirt.