Investigation Gets Results
We shared our results with the local parks departments. In Johnson County, for example, park officials are replacing older tables with newer ones made of recycled materials. The remaining tables are repainted and resealed until they can be replaced.
“We welcome this information that you provide. We’ll immediately go out and replace those tables,” said Michael Meadors, Director of Johnson County Parks department.
A spokesman for the Kansas City Parks Department also said an effort has been underway to replace or “trade out” tables built prior to 2004 with new ones. According to the spokesman, 100 tables have been replaced in the city’s 219 parks.
The NBC Action News Investigators received the following response from a Jackson County Spokesman:
"The number one priority of Jackson County Parks and Recreation is the safety and welfare of our guests and patrons. We replace picnic tables throughout the parks on a regular basis - the oldest ones are replaced first and discarded.
Based on the information presented to us and the concern expressed we are asking all patrons to use tablecloths on picnic tables and to use general common sense when picnicking and using our Parks."
-Jeph BurroughsScanlon/Public Information Officer
We found the following safety tips from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, as well as health risks to your children who may be exposed to CCA treated wood in a number of things from picnic tables to patio decks to play sets.
Risks of cancer
The scientific evidence about the health consequences of long-term arsenic exposures in humans is found in studies of drinking water. Epidemiological studies have been conducted in Taiwan where there are high levels of arsenic in drinking water. These studies have demonstrated an increased incidence of lung and bladder tumors in that population from drinking water containing arsenic.
Staff calculated the increased lifetime risk of developing lung or bladder cancer from exposure to arsenic for the individual who plays on CCA-treated wood playsets during early childhood. This increased cancer risk ranges from about 2 in a million to 100 in a million.
Safety Tips/Reducing Exposure
Since the 1970's the majority of the pressure-treated wood used in residential settings was treated with CCA. Therefore, if you are not sure if the playset is composed of CCA-treated wood, you should assume it is.
Children are exposed to arsenic through their hand-to-mouth activity while playing on and after playing on CCA-treated wood playsets.
To minimize the risk of exposure to arsenic from CCA-treated playsets, parents and caregivers should thoroughly wash the child’s hands with soap and water immediately after outdoor play, especially before eating. Children should also be discouraged from eating while on CCA-treated playgrounds.
Based on limited data, some groups suggest that applying certain penetrating coatings such as oil-based, semi-transparent stains on a regular basis (once a year or every other year depending upon wear and weathering) may reduce the amount of arsenic that comes out of the wood.
