[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36756-36757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-17501]


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CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION


Petition HP 01-3 Requesting a Ban on Use of Chromated-Copper-
Arsenate (CCA) Treated Wood in Playground Equipment

AGENCY: Consumer Product Safety Commission.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Commission has received a submission that contains a 
request that the Commission ban use of chromated-copper-arsenate (CCA) 
treated wood in playground equipment. This request has been docketed as 
petition under number HP 01-3 under the Federal Hazardous Substances 
Act (FHSA). The Commission solicits written comments concerning the 
petition.

DATES: The Office of the Secretary must receive comments on the 
petition by September 11, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments on the petition, preferably in five copies, should 
be mailed to the Office of the Secretary, Consumer Product Safety 
Commission, Washington, DC 20207, telephone (301) 504-0800, or 
delivered to the Office of the Secretary, Room 501, 4330 East-West 
Highway, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. Comments may also be filed by 
facsimile to (301) 504-0127 or by e-mail to [email protected]. Comments 
should be captioned ``Petition HP 01-3, Petition for Ban on Use of CCA 
Treated Wood in Playground Equipment.'' A copy of the petition is 
available for inspection at the Commission's Public Reading Room, Room 
419, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rockelle Hammond, Office of the 
Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, D.C. 20207; 
telephone (301) 504-0800, ext. 1232.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Commission has received correspondence 
from the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Healthy Building 
Network (HBN) requesting that it issue a ban on use of chromated-
copper-arsenate (CCA) treated wood in playground equipment. The 
petitioners assert that a ban is necessary because ``[r]ecent research 
has shown that arsenic is more carcinogenic than previously recognized, 
that arsenic is present at significant concentrations on CCA-treated 
wood and in underlying soil, that the health risks posed by this wood 
are greater than previously recognized, and that past risk assessments 
were incomplete.''
    The Commission is docketing the request for a ban as a petition 
under provisions of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), 15 
U.S.C. 1261-1278.
    The submission also requests that the Commission review the safety 
of CCA-treated wood for general use. This request has not been docketed 
as part of the petition because this action does not require 
rulemaking. (The request for a review will be considered separately by 
the CPSC's Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction.)
    Interested parties may obtain a copy of the petition by writing or 
calling the Office of the Secretary, Consumer

[[Page 36757]]

Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207; telephone (301) 504-
0800. A copy of the petition is also available for inspection from 8:30 
a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, in the Commission's Public 
Reading Room, Room 419, 4330 East-West Highway, Bethesda, Maryland.

    Dated: July 9, 2001.
Todd A. Stevenson,
Acting Secretary, Consumer Product Safety Commission.
[FR Doc. 01-17501 Filed 7-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6355-01-P