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CCA seen as crucial issue. (C&D News).


Wood treated with chromated copper arsenate Chromated copper arsenate (CCA) is a wood preservative used for timber treatment, in use since the mid-1930's. It is a mix of copper, chromium, and arsenic formulated as oxides or salts.  (CCA (1) (Common Cryptographic Architecture) Cryptography software from IBM for MVS and DOS applications.

(2) (Compatible Communications A
) will present potential recycled wood products contamination, a regulator from the State of Florida told attendees of the C&D World conference in Fort Lauderdale.

Laws are being passed in several states confining scrapped CCA-treated wood to lined landfills, noted William Hinkley of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) is the agency in Florida's government charged with most functions relating to environmental quality in the state. [1] History
By the mid-1960s, when the U.S.
 (DEP DEP Deposit
DEP Deputy
DEP Department of Environmental Protection
DEP Dependent
DEP Departure
DEP Depot
DEP Deposition
DEP deployed (US DoD)
DEP Data Execution Prevention (computer security) 
).

Hinkley, chief of the DEP's Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste Hazardous waste

Any solid, liquid, or gaseous waste materials that, if improperly managed or disposed of, may pose substantial hazards to human health and the environment. Every industrial country in the world has had problems with managing hazardous wastes.
, cited Florida, Virginia and New York as having identified CCA-treated wood as a potential hazard due to the presence of arsenic and hexavalent chromium.

CCA-treated wood is most often used in outdoor applications such as decking, fences and exterior stairways, said Hinkley, who added that most C&D recyclers who process wood currently try to hand separate CCA-treated wood before it is shredded or otherwise processed.

When treated wood enters a recycled wood product such as landscaping mulch, it can boost the presence of arsenic and hexavalent chromium well above levels identified as unsafe by the U.S. EPA EPA eicosapentaenoic acid.

EPA
abbr.
eicosapentaenoic acid


EPA,
n.pr See acid, eicosapentaenoic.

EPA,
n.
. Hinkley related one anecdote of two homeowners in Key Largo, Fla., who contracted arsenic poisoning allegedly from a load of contaminated mulch.

CCA-treated wood became popular in the late 1970s because of its ability to repel insect infestations. One study conducted for Florida estimates that more than 30,000 tons of arsenic has entered the Sunshine State in the form of treated wood since the 1970s. "Recyclers are seeing it now because it is being retired as building stock," Hinkley noted.

The good news is that CCA is being phased out in favor of less toxic copper-based treatments. But recyclers will continue to face the challenge of identifying and sorting the material out when it enters their facilities.

CCA-treated wood is also bringing scrutiny to C&D recyclers because of its ability to cause ground water contamination problems.

The C&D World conference, sponsored by the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA CMRA Commercial Mail Receiving Agency
CMRA Construction Materials Recycling Association
CMRA Central Motorcycle Roadracing Association
CMRA Capital Market Risk Advisors, Inc.
), took place Jan. 19-22.
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Title Annotation:chromated copper arsenate
Publication:Recycling Today
Geographic Code:1U5FL
Date:Mar 1, 2003
Words:322
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