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The Consumer Product Safety Commission announced in February of this year that arsenic-treated lumber routinely used on outdoor playsets can cause cancer. It is the first time the government has so clearly recognized the danger of this common wood preservative. Arsenic-treated lumber is used in nearly 90 percent of all backyard decks and wooden playsets as well as on docks and in retaining walls. It can leach out of the wood for up to 20 years.
The Environmental Working group offers simple home tests for a small fee that can tell how much arsenic is on a deck, play-set, or picnic table and how much is in the soil below. Visit www.ewg.org to order a kit and for information on pressure-treated lumber.
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