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Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA):
Risk Assessments, Cancellations,
and REDs Information
CCA Table of Contents
- What is the status of the risk assessment for CCA?
- What does the voluntary cancellation/termination of certain uses of CCA mean?
- What does the voluntary cancellation/termination of certain uses of CCA mean?
- Where is CCA in the reregistration eligibility decision (RED)'s process?
1. What is the status of the risk assessment for CCA?
EPA conducted two Preliminary Risk Assessments (PRAs) for CCA. The first one, the Preliminary Risk Assessment for Wood Preservatives Containing Arsenic and/or Chromium Reregistration Eligibility Decision (the occupational and environmental risk assessment for workers), was completed in March 2004 and is available for Regulations.gov in Docket Number EPA-HQ-OPP-2003-0250-0002. The children's risk assessment, which focuses on children's risk from exposure to CCA from decks and playstructures, is on a different track, and involves a number of difficult science issues. This PRA was reviewed by the Science Advisory Panel (SAP) in 2003. The final risk assessment will be completed in the summer of 2006, and the Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) will be completed in the fall of 2006.
2. What does the voluntary cancellation/termination of certain uses of CCA mean?
On Tuesday, February 12, 2002, EPA Administrator Christine Whitman announced a voluntary decision by pesticide registrants to move consumer use of treated lumber products away from a variety of uses of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic, in favor of new alternative wood preservatives, effective December 31, 2003. This transition affects virtually all residential uses of wood treated with CCA, including wood used in play-structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways/boardwalks. This action will result in a reduction of virtually all residential uses of CCA-treated wood within less than two years. This voluntary cancellation of certain CCA products and termination of certain uses of other CCA products greatly accelerates the transition to new alternatives, responding to marketplace demands for wood products that do not contain CCA. This transition will substantially reduce the time it could have taken to go through the traditional regulatory process.
3. What does the voluntary cancellation/termination of certain uses of CCA mean?
On Tuesday, February 12, 2002, EPA Administrator Christine Whitman announced a voluntary decision by pesticide registrants to move consumer use of treated lumber products away from a variety of uses of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic, in favor of new alternative wood preservatives, effective December 31, 2003. This transition affects virtually all residential uses of wood treated with CCA, including wood used in play-structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways/boardwalks. This action will result in a reduction of virtually all residential uses of CCA-treated wood within less than two years. This voluntary cancellation of certain CCA products and termination of certain uses of other CCA products greatly accelerates the transition to new alternatives, responding to marketplace demands for wood products that do not contain CCA. This transition will substantially reduce the time it could have taken to go through the traditional regulatory process.
4. Where is CCA in the reregistration eligibility decision (RED)'s process?
The Agency is continuing to evaluate those uses not included in the voluntary cancellation under the reregistration process within the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP). Once OPP completes the reregistration review for CCA, the reregistration eligibility decision (RED) document for chromated arsenicals will be released, planned for late 2006.