EPA issues new lumber warning

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A Ripley County man's effort to alert consumers to the dangers of CCA-Pressure Treated Wood has reached the national level.

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, the EPA, and USDA, created this informational brochure about the wood. The lumber product contains arsenic.

An I-Team 8 investigation 10 years ago, found arsenic leaching out of CCA treated wood used in playgrounds, decks and picnic tables here in Central Indiana.

Ripley County resident Artie McGuire pushed for the brochure to be created and distributed nationwide.

Ten years ago his family was building their dream home in Madison Indiana.
Artie purchased CCA treated lumber to build a wrap-around porch. He cut the wood and burned the scraps.

As time passed, squirrels and cats on the property began dying. Artie suffered migraines and rashes. His wife’s hair began falling out. His daughter suffered an outbreak of warts on her legs. His son, a teenager at the time, had a heart attack.

Medical tests found high levels of arsenic in their bloodstreams. Testing also found high levels of arsenic inside and outside the home.

McGuire says the arsenic was coming from the "salt treated" wood.

He later discovered "salt treated" lumber was the common name for CCA treated lumber.

CCA stands for Chromium, Copper, and Arsenic.

McGuire stopped construction and moved his family into the basement. Last year the EPA removed arsenic contaminated soil from the property.

McGuire says when he purchased the lumber, he was not given any information about the potential dangers of using the treated wood.
Now that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has completed the new brochure, McGuire wants to see it distributed to Health Departments and lumber yards across the country.

Production of CCA treated lumber ended in 2003. Stores were allowed to sell remaining stock. McGuire says you can still purchase it in Indiana.

He wants that stopped.