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Bangor
Daily News
4 June 2003
Legislators
ban lumber treated with arsenic
By Misty Edgecomb
Maine legislators today approved the nation's first ban on the sale of
wood treated with arsenic, despite strong opposition from the lumber industry.
"This is a significant action for the protection of children's health,"
said Michael Belliveau of the Environmental Health Strategy Center in
Bangor.
Arsenic is a known carcinogen and can be a fatal poison even in small
amounts. Yet for decades, a pesticide with arsenic as a major component
has been injected into the pressure-treated lumber preferred for outdoor
projects such as decks and children's playground equipment.
Recent risk assessments indicate the arsenic can leach out of wood that
is not sealed with varnish or paint, ending up on the hands, and eventually
in the mouths, of children, according to the state toxicologist Andy Smith.
Rep. Scott Cowger, D-Hallowell, concerned with arsenic exposure, introduced
the bill to increase public awareness about the issue. The bill includes
new restrictions on the sale and disposal of arsenic-treated lumber as
well as a directive for the state to further study risks associated with
arsenic in the environment.
A measure that would have required home buyers to be informed of the presence
of pressure-treated lumber or naturally occurring arsenic in well water
at the point of sale was removed from the bill. However, the Maine Association
of Realtors volunteered to add information about arsenic to its standard
check-off form, which already includes such items as lead paint and radon,
Cowger said.
Gov. Baldacci is expected to sign the bill, which states that beginning
April 1, 2004, Maine lumber dealers can no longer sell arsenic-treated
lumber for use in residential construction.
The bill is designed to close a loophole in an agreement between the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency and chemical manufacturers to stop producing
the arsenic-treated lumber by the start of 2004. The federal agreement
has no restrictions on sales, so arsenic-treated lumber could be stockpiled
and sold for years to come, or even imported from overseas, Belliveau
said.
An alternative product, lumber treated with a pesticide that has copper
as a main ingredient, is readily available at most lumberyards, and pressure-treated
lumber using organic chemicals should be on the market within a few years.
However, the copper-pesticide lumber costs as much as 20 percent more
than the arsenic-pesticide lumber, according to Rick Baumgarten, chairman
of the board of directors of the National Lumber & Building Materials
Dealers Association, and a lumber retailer in Chicago.
The association "came out of the woodwork" and lobbied heavily
against the bill over the past week, nearly succeeding in adding an amendment
that would have gutted its sales ban, said Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake,
co-chairman of the Natural Resources Committee and a strong supporter
of the bill.
"Everybody is afraid of lawyers and liability," explained Baumgarten,
who believes that health concerns are "overblown."
"Arsenic is a buzzword," he said. "[Environmental groups]
just scare the living daylights out of mommies."
The Legislature did approve a measure supported by local lumber dealers
exempting them from liability in connection with arsenic-treated lumber
that they have sold legally in the past. The bill passed in the House
of Representatives on Monday with a vote of 82-53, and in the Senate on
Tuesday with a vote of 20-14.
"We're basically saying, it's outlawed in Maine, and if you don't
sell it, you'll have no problem," Martin said.
For a copy of the legislation, visit: http://janus.state.me.us/legis/LawMakerWeb/externalsiteframe.asp?ID=280009754&LD=1309&Type=1;
then click on “H-490” which is the Committee amendment approved
by the Legislature; Then, to read the complete text, click on the Right
arrows or click on “Download Bill Text”
For arsenic-treated wood, the Maine legislation, LD 1309, closes loopholes
in the federal arsenic wood phase-out by requiring that:
• upon the effective date of the bill (~ mid-September 2003), retailers
are prohibited from purchasing arsenic-treated wood for most residential
uses
• by April 1, 2004, all sales of arsenic treated wood for most residential
uses are banned
[by comparison, the U.S. EPA bans the treatment of wood with arsenic for
most residential uses after December 31, 2003, but allows sales to continue
indefinitely]
• by January 1, 2004, the Department of Environmental Protection
must complete a market evaluation of the remaining uses of arsenic treated
wood; in 2004, the Natural Resources Committee of the Legislature is authorized
to introduce a bill to phase out the remaining uses of arsenic-treated
wood
• by January 1, 2004, the Bureau of Health must develop an informational
brochure on what home owners should know about arsenic hazards from well
water and treated wood, including the need to coat treated wood with a
sealant on an annual basis to reduce arsenic exposure; for private home
sales, sellers must provide this information to buyers; for sales assisted
by a real estate agent, voluntary measures are being taken to educate
buyers, sellers and agents about arsenic hazards in water and wood
• by January 1, 2005, the Department of Environmental Protection
must develop a plan to restrict the disposal of arsenic treated wood in
unlined landfills and its burning as a fuel in wood-fired (“biomass”)
power plants
LD 1309 also requires:
• by October 1, 2004, the Bureau of Health must develop a comprehensive
safe drinking water program for private wells to reduce exposure to naturally
occurring arsenic and other contaminants
• by October 1, 2004, the Real Estate Commission must report on
the results of voluntary measures to raise awareness about the need to
test private wells for arsenic and coat pressure-treated wood structures
with sealants to reduce arsenic exposure, among real estate agents and
home sellers and buyers
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