Keep kids safe, test your park's wooden play equipment.

For decades, nearly all outdoor wooden structures—play sets, picnic tables, fences, decks—were made with "pressure-treated" wood injected with chromated copper arsenate (CCA)—an insecticide and preservative that is 22-percent pure arsenic, a known carcinogen that can also cause nerve damage. The problem is that arsenic can leach from wood onto kids’ hands and into the soil below. Making matters worse, arsenic leaching doesn't decrease with time, even structures 15 years old release just as much arsenic as newer ones.

With studies showing soil from 40% of US backyards and parks exceeded EPA's Superfund levels for hazardous waste cleanup, manufacturers agreed to halt production of CCA-treated wood for home use and playgrounds beginning in 2004, though existing stock were allowed to be sold. If your kids are regulars at the neighborhood playground or your family enjoys picnics in the park, and the play equipment, tables and benches are made of wood, test them to see if they are leaching arsenic. Test kits for wood and soil are available for $20 from The Safe Playgrounds Project. Test during dry weather: Rain can wash surface arsenic away.

If the tests turn up arsenic at the school or public recreational facility, talk to the school or city parks department about a plan for replacing or sealing arsenic-treated wood. If they're already taking action, find out how often they reseal, what kind of sealant is used, and how future demolition will be handled. They should be sealed with a solid or semi-transparent deck stain; AFM Safecoat recommends low-VOC Durostain with low-VOC Safecoat Watershield (www.afmsafecoat.com). Organize a volunteer day at your local park or playground to seal all arsenic-treated wood. Arsenic-treated wood should be sealed at least once a year.

Until the park equipment is safe, be vigilant about contact with treated lumber and wash hands thoroughly. Don't allow food anywhere near treated surfaces such as old picnic tables.