I am now on summer vacation and what better way to spend your summer vacation as a mom than to take your 2 year-old daughter to play at the local public park? We run, slide, swing, twirl, climb, hang on the monkey bars and finally, we have a snack followed by a walk along the pond before deciding we’ve had enough. Just as we are leaving I notice a sign that had failed to catch my attention on our way in, probably because it was posted behind the trach cans, which stated that this playground, Eureka Park in Denton, Texas, is built from wood that has been preserved with chromate copper arsenate (CCA), which contains arsenic! Whose idea was this?!?! Now I not only have to worry about things they add to our food and everything else but now that concern extends to the playground equipment that the city provided for our enjoyment!?! Well after that I was curious as to what the dangers of this CCA are. Apparently, CCA has been linked to things like cancer, birth defects, kidney and liver damage, and death!
The city seems to be following all of the EPA’s guidelines so technically, they are not at fault. They do seal it twice a year which is supposed to ‘lessen’ the amount of arsenic that leaches in to the soil and the hands of our children (and faces, apparently, if you see the picture of my daughter with her face against the railing.)There have been many groups who have complained to the EPA about the use of CCA and the war continues on today. So now it seems all I can do is help alert local parents who may have missed the sign just as I did. Then what, petition? I am obviously not the first parent to make a complaint. My daughter and I will definitely not be playing at Eureka Park any more. Luckily there are many other play areas to choose from and now I know to keep my eyes open for caution signs in the future.
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