The Results
Our Investigation revealed arsenic levels were found in most of the picnic tables tested.
A table at Lake Jacomo came back with arsenic levels at more than 21 parts per billion. That is twice as much arsenic as the EPA considers safe in drinking water, which is 10 parts per billion.
A table at Kansas City's Tower Park revealed arsenic at 55 parts per billion. That’s five times more than the EPA's safe level in water.
A table at Antioch Park came back with six times more arsenic than the EPA standard.
Out of the ten tables we tested, eight had arsenic levels higher than the EPA standard.
“It raises the level of concern because we do think of arsenic as dangerous,” said Christina Matulis, a Lenexa mother who takes her child to Antioch Park to play.
Results:
Longview Lake
14.8 ppb
34.0 ppb
Lake Jacomo
non detectible
21.4 ppb
Swope Park
non detectible
13.4 ppb
Tower Park
35.8 ppb
54.9 ppb
Antioch Park
60.4 ppb
31.9 ppb
The Victims
Our investigation found more than a dozen people in the US and Canada with illnesses due to treated wood.
A southeast Missouri man became sick building a walkway in a state park. That was in 1986.
A Utah woman had two fingers amputated after getting a splinter from a wooden post in 1995.
In Washington State, Rick Feutz fell ill in the late 80’s building a raft for his kids. Today, the former state teacher of the year said he still has trouble walking and speaking.
“My own body started destroying my nervous system as part of the reaction to the arsenic,” Feutz said.
