The 1944 film Arsenic and Old Lace, starring Cary Grant, Raymond Massey and Peter Lorre, was a slapstck film about (2) murderous aunts, compassionately serving arsenic-laced Elderberry wine to unsuspecting elderly gentlemen and having their delusional nephew bury the bodies in their basement, innocently referred to as the Panama Canal.  This is an uproarious and frenzied comedy, but arsenic poisoning is not a laughing matter.

Arsenic treated lumber was used to build more than 90 percent of all outdoor wooden structures in the United States. Millions of homes currently have playground equipment, decks and porches that were fabricated using pressure treated lumber containing CCA (Chromated Copper Arsenate), first introduced in the 1930's.  The standard formulation of CCA used in wood was 22 percent arsenic. Based on this data and the results of numerous government and academic studies, it is estimate that one out of every 500 children who regularly play on swing sets and decks made from arsenic treated wood, or one child in an average size elementary school, will develop lung or bladder cancer later in life as a result of these exposures (EWG 2001). 

Arsenic sticks to children's hands when they play on treated wood, and is absorbed through the skin and ingested when they put their hands in their mouths. Arsenic is on the EPA's very short list of chemicals known without question to cause cancer in humans. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and its National Research Council (NRC), which have  produced several reports addressing arsenic, have concluded multiple times that arsenic causes lung, bladder, and skin cancer in humans, and may also cause other cancers including kidney, prostate, and nasal passage cancer. NAS and EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) also have concluded that arsenic may cause high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes.

On May 22, 2001, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Healthy Building Network (HBN) submitted a request to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that it enact an immediate ban of CCA (or arsenic) treated wood.  As of Dec. 31, 2003, CCA treated wood was banned from the market, but was still available through lumber companies like Lowe's and Home Depot, throughout the U.S. and Canada, until mid to late 2004.  Remedy recommendations range from power washing and encapsulating the treated materials with an oil-based, penetrating preservative, to replacement of the materials with redwood, cedar, white oak, a composite material and/or an aluminum or vinyl product.  Chances are, your home has this product and your family is still at risk.

Deck Cleaning & Restoration of the Carolinas wants to help you protect your family from the dangers of arsenic treated wood.  It is a fully insured and licensed company, specializing in the power washing and preserving of your deck, porch, dock, stone, brick, patio, driveway, as well as the repair, restoration and replacement of these materials, offering several alternatives that fit into your budget.

Reference links for you to learn more about Arsenic

• Generation Green: http://www.generationgreen.com  
• Preventing Harm: http://www.preventingharm.org
• Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org
• Eco-Mall: http://www.ecomall.com