Bottom line the FDA is not doing their job, but it looks as though the lobbyist are. If there are and were alternatives prior, then why not ban the arsenic in the first place....I will tell you why...greed. Just like vaccines....know matter how dangerous the preservative the cheaper on made it to the vile. Again Greed. Why don't you tell the people who's lives have been permenately changed and not for the better that "its a bit dramatic", someone got a sliver and has significantly hurt them. If these dangerous poison are going to be a part of our everyday lives they should come with labels so we can make the choice. If were you or someone that you love were on the recieving end of the negative impact of these poisons I am sure, no, I am positive you would have a different angle on this. I don't understand why secrectly adding poison to something is acceptable, Is not arsenic in a bottle by itself marked with warnig? Deluting it only prolongs the process. Our bodies accumualte toxins so just add it up with the rest. Also deluting it only results in permantely damaging our bodies but it doesn't kill us (quickly anyway)! What level of poison are you will to absorb, I can't imagine telling my child "it's just a little honey it won't kill you.....it will only screw you up for the rest of your life". Being passive about being poisoned is unaccaptable to me and i hope that you or your loved ones never, ever have to deal with the fallout of the broken FDA, just my opinion, and it counts because people I love have been unknownly exposed to such toxis and their quaility of life is zilch

I found this article over the top and a bit dramatic myself. I agree with Sarahcap, why use this standard to compare the two items. Why not place food on the table top directly and then test the food, or run your hand along the table and then test your hand. I am not sure why this is even a concern if you take the precautions of washing your hands and not placing food directly on the table. These are common sense things. In addition "pressure treated wood" and "CCA" treated wood are different things. Just because wood is pressure treated does not mean that it was with CCA. There are other alternatives out there for CCA treatment. These alternatives were available before there was a ban on CCA so you really need to know what your deck was treated with. People in general are easily scarred by these stories, and the news/media know it. They run these stories for ratings and trying to get local Emmy’s. The more play they can do on a story and the more people they get talking about it all the better for them. Use common sense do not eat off of a table and wash your hands before you eat. I was taught those things before I was in school.

While I appreciate warnings about toxic substances in public areas, I can't help feeling like this article comes off a bit over-dramatic regarding the actual risk posed by this threat. Specifically, using EPA standards for arsenic levels in drinking water seems like an irrelevant comparison in this context. Picnic tables are not drinking water, so why would these levels be applicable? The risk factor of arsenic in drinking water is inherently linked with the ingestion of that water. Tables, though regularly coming into contact with food, are not themselves intended to be ingested. Why state the discovered levels in terms of an irrelevant standard (i.e. "five times more than the EPA's safe level in water")?

Justa Guy what are you talking about?! People go to parks and mostly with children and fully expect to eat off tables with dangerous/deadly poisons? I am sure the woman that lost her fingers and continues to have neurological decline would have much preferred bird poop! The other things you discuss, lightening and gangs are visible and facts/risks that we are aware of and able to make choices about. Deliberatly hidden toxins for profit is a huge issue I have complete and utter distain for anyone, Corp. or not that contribute to the moral decline of this country and deliberately making people sick for the sheer purpose of GREED. Please educate yourself, you may just save your own life someday. Ps. Note for enjoying parks, Don't go during a lightening storm and if possible avoid gang populated parks. oh ya and stay clear of any white stuff, it could be bird poop or just plain meth. Its the stuff you can't see that is making this country sick.

Why not test the park tables for meth and crack residue? How about bird droppings containing E. coli and salmonella? You most likely would find those at higher concentrations. Use common sense folks, cover the tables before placing food on them. Twelve folks out of the total population is ptoof of extremely low risk. How many folks in parks got hit by lightning, killed by gangs? Oh right, I forgot the local news never uses the work "gang".

in 2000 my one year old feel on our deck and had tens if not hundreds of hairlike splinters (that could not be removed by the usual technique of tweezers). I immediately call his doctor due to my concerns over pressure treated wood and asked should i bring him into the ER. I was told "don't be silly, they will work there way out on there own and pressure treated wood is not a concern. After reading this passage I wished I listened to my own instincts. My son is 10 today and has a signficant neurological disorder that has disabled him. Maybe I will investigate my options about the way this was handled.