A new report released by one of the nation's leading environmental interest groups reveals that arsenic levels in pressure-treated wood are just as high in old lumber than in newly made timber. The Environmental Working Group used volunteers in 45 states to conduct "wipe tests" on thousands of wood samples across the country. Returned samples showed arsenic levels three times the 10 micrograms currently allowed in one liter of tap water.

Exposure to arsenic can cause cancer, diarrhea, headache, vomiting, and nausea. In an agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year, wood companies agreed to stop manufacturing lumber in December 2003 with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), a human carcinogen approved as a pesticide. The EPA, however, does not believe that wood already treated with CCA should be replaced.