Kids Enslaved to Poisoned Playgrounds by Timber Lobby

Tuesday, 27 April 2004 10:00

The committee, meeting in Sydney over the next two days and charged with determining the safe use of the toxic timber, is stacked with industry representatives that have vested interests, TEC said.

"CCA treated timber should be prohibited for domestic use, as it is in the United States. Australia's failure to follow international best practice and protect children will signal severe abuse of Standards Australia's decision making processes," said Jeff Angel, TEC Director.

The Standards Australia committee, meeting today, will consider public comments in the development of Interim Standard AS 5605 which is a guide to the safe use of preservative-treated timber.

"Having a committee dominated by industry determining the safe use of its own toxic product contradicts the most basic form of decision making for the public good. Where are the parental, public health and environmental representatives on this committee? We call on Standards Australia to reconstitute this committee to make it representative of the whole community, not just the timber lobby."

"If Standards Australia fails to act, the State Government should move to prohibit the use of CCA timber for domestic use and tighten regulations to ensure its safe disposal."
The US Environment Protection Authority has banned CCA treated timber from residential uses where there is human contact from 30 December 2003. CCA timber has been banned in Switzerland, Vietnam and Indonesia, and is severely restricted in Japan, Sweden and Germany.

"When toxic timber has been banned around the world based on robust scientific information, it would be retrograde for the Standards Committee to knowingly commit kids to further poisoning."

New studies have found that arsenic leaches out of treated timber and is a health risk. A US study found that the amount of arsenic wiped off a small area of wood, about the size of a four year-old's hand, far exceeds what authorities consider safe. The World Health Organisation has confirmed that arsenic causes lung, bladder, skin and other cancers.

For further information

Contact
:
Jeff Angel or Jane Castle
Phone
:
61 2 9299 5599
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:
http://www.tec.org.au/