I have an OLD house.Someone told me my back porch floor is made of wood that has been treated with arsenic.?
Question:Will this treatment hurt my kids and/or pets?
Answers:
Why do the experts always give erroneous information? Yes arsenic was used for treated wood years ago. Is it still in the wood now? Not likely! Will it hurt your kids or pets? Well, how many kids and pets died there before you bought the house? Very likely None! And absolutely none from arsenic poisoning. Your house very likely has LEAD PAINT! Oh my word! Should you move out immediately and burn the house down?Your old expert will say yes. I can show you millions of baby boomers that grew up sitting bare legged on Arsenic treated porches, and chewing on lead painted window sills. You are smart to be concerned, but are worrying needlessly.
only if your kids lick the entire porch clean.
I have never heard of this I would think it would be almost equal to ths using of lead based paint over time there is still a small amount but not really enough to hurt anyone. Next they would have to eat the flooring.
Not if it is outside with good air movement. You could also get a deck sealant to seal the deck.
well dont eat your porch then, not even a bite
i know it will be tempting, but you must not eat the wood
Most pressure treated lumber for outdoor (exposed) use is treated with arsenic ... the push the arsenic into the wood before kiln drying it to try to prevent insects from eating the wood. So that being said, yes there is a possibility that the arsenic can harm pets and children because the arsenic can leach into the surrounding ground ... if your pets or kids eat the dirt, or play in the dirt and put their fingers/paws in their mouths, then they could get some arsenic. If you're truly concerned about the arsenic levels in the soil around your home, contact your local public health office and ask them who you can call to have your home tested for toxins.
What you are talking about is the now banned pressure treated wood that had been used for decades, it contains a dangerous degree of arsenic, especially prevalent when burned or cut with a saw. It contains chromated copper arsentate which has the poison arsenic in it.
Because it has been linked to cancer and other disorders, the wood has now been banned. See more about it at:
http://www.origen.net/arsenic.html...
After reading this and other references, you may probably want to consider having your porch rebuilt or, at the very least, being sure that it is well covered.
If your house is quite old, it is likely that the wood is not treated with any wood preservatives. Treated wood has been around for years..take railroad ties for example..those are timbers that were treated with creosote...nasty nasty stuff. The first treated wood used in house construction to my knowledge was called
"All WEATHER WOOD". These woods were used to build all-weather-wood foundations and used as sill plates. Copper-chromated-arsenates was the catch-all name of the type of chemicals used to treat this wood. Typically the wood was treated to a .60 (point 60) retention...meaning that 12 lbs of chemical was forced into a cubic foot of wood by pressure and heat. This wood was nasty.Over the years though, the use of CCA was diminished and for the most part eliminated.
Now, treaters are using less dangerous chemicals. A typica; wood treater in the pacific northwest is Mcfarland-Cascade. Yjey shud have a web site for more info
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