Rotary in the News

by | Oct 29, 2011 | Playground in the Park

Our president Tim McCaffrey was featured in an article from WLNS this week. He commented on an article regarding the East Lansing Patriarche Park, and the East Lansing Rotary Club’s efforts there.

Poisoned Parks: Wooden Play Places May Be Hurting Children

Could the wooden play structure in your neighborhood park be toxic? Many parks use a chemical preservative to protect the wood from insects and rotting. It’s called Chromated Copper Arsenate, or CCA, which contains arsenic.

Some local communities are taking steps to protect children from the very place they play.

CCA is a preservative found in most treated wood made from 1970 to 2003.

“Your child plays on it, puts their hands on it. Can arsenic come off on your hand and be a source of exposure? Well, surprisingly it can,” said toxicologist Michael Allen with the Ingham County Health Department.

At East Lansing’s Patriarche Park, a big wood playscape offers fun for the entire family. There’s wood everywhere and children touch it. There’s even places for families to sit down and eat on the treated wood.

 
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