Bush Administration Stumbles on Arsenic Pollution — Again

http://www.ewg.org/issues/arsenic/20031114/

From the Environmental Working Group

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EPA Downplays Health Risks of Arsenic-Treated Wood Contradicting Its Own Newly-Released Study
Triumph of Spin Over Science May Be Victory for Wood Industry's Newest Lobbyist: Bob Dole


WASHINGTON — The Bush Administration famously gave itself a political black eye in 2001 when it halted a regulation to reduce the amount of arsenic allowed in tap water. Now the White House is on the verge of another major environmental policy blunder on arsenic—this time by soft-pedaling an EPA study that shows elevated cancer risks from arsenic-soaked wood used to make decks, playground equipment and outdoor playsets.

A Bush Administration spokesman at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) downplayed the far-reaching significance of the most comprehensive government research to date on the health threat posed by existing arsenic-treated wooden structures — "The Risk Assessment for Children Who Contact CCA-Treated Playsets and Decks" report released by the agency late Thursday, Nov. 13.
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The Agency is in an awkward position, with solid science having now undercut Administrator Whitman's February 2002 widespread assurance to the public that arsenic-treated wooden structures presented no health problems. However, that assurance was then wholly without scientific merit, as no EPA risk assessment had been performed to inform her assurance to the American public.

"Now that evidence in hand makes clear that significant health risks do exist, we are at a loss to understand why the Agency would continue to mislead the public about the problems with existing decks, playground and playset equipment made from arsenic-soaked wood," Cook said. "We can only conclude that the Administration's spokesperson is clinging to this now-disproved assurance because former presidential candidate Bob Dole is leading the lobbying effort to keep arsenic in America's backyards and playgrounds."

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The press release from EPA does not admit the findings of the risks assessment show evidence of increased cancer risk to children who play on arsenic-treated wood, and it does not explain that inventories of such products treated before the end of 2003 can continue to be sold past that date:
http://tinyurl.com/v4wi

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Draft Assessment on CCA-Treated Wood Released for Scientific Peer Review
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The Scientific Advisory Panel (SAP), a group of independent scientists who advise EPA on critical science issues, will evaluate the Agency's draft risk assessment on pressure-treated wood on Dec. 3-5. The draft assessment evaluates the potential risks to children who play on playsets and decks made with wood pressure-treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). This draft risk assessment focuses on a number of new predictive models and data sources that have been used to better quantify and understand potential risks associated with exposure to CCA-treated wood. The Agency is asking the SAP to review these new approaches and to provide comments to further refine the draft assessment.

It is important to note the draft risk assessment findings are preliminary and subject to additional analysis. Therefore, it is premature to reach conclusions about the potential for CCA-treated playsets and decks to contribute to cancer risk in children. In Feb. 2002, the manufacturers of CCA informed the Agency that they would voluntarily cancel their registrations for residential uses of CCA-treated wood. As a result of their voluntarily cancelled registrations, wood intended for uses such as playground equipment, decks, fences, walkways and landscape timbers cannot legally be treated with CCA after Dec. 30 of this year.
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The press release does not even describe the findings of the risk assessment. One has to go to the 315-page .pdf file to figure it out for ownself, which is not easy unless one is familiar with the language of risk assessment. http://tinyurl.com/v4y7


The Washington Post did a pretty good job of summing it up, though:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38227-2003Nov13.html

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The preliminary findings released yesterday show that 90 percent of children repeatedly exposed to arsenic-treated wood face a greater than one-in-1 million risk of cancer -- the EPA's historic threshold of concern about the effects of toxic chemicals.
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"I think it's premature to speak with degree of certainty," said Jim Jones, director of the EPA's office of pesticide programs, which ordered the study. "The preliminary assessment, I would say, shows there are marginal increases in risk to children who play on decks and play sets, but there's a lot of variables that go into the assessment."

However, the draft "probabilistic exposure assessment" contradicts the agency's assurances last year that existing arsenic-treated wood products did not pose a serious public risk.

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