| Chromium on the Hands of Children After Playing in Playgrounds Built from Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-Treated Wood Camille Hamula,1 Zhongwen Wang,1 Hongquan
Zhang,1 Elena Kwon,1 Xing-Fang Li,1 Stephan
Gabos,2 and X. Chris Le1 1Environmental Health Sciences, Department of Public Health
Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; 2Health
Surveillance Branch, Alberta Health and Wellness, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Abstract
Children’s exposure to arsenic and chromium from playground equipment constructed with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) -treated wood is a potential concern because of children’s hand-to-mouth activity. However, there exists no direct measure of Cr levels on the hands of children after playing in such playgrounds. In this study we measured both soluble and total Cr on the hands of 139 children playing in playgrounds, eight of which were constructed with CCA-treated wood and eight of which were not. Children’s age and duration of play were recorded. The hands of each child were washed after play with 150 mL deionized water, which was collected in a bag and subsequently underwent analysis of Cr and 20 other elements, using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Total average Cr on the hands of 63 children who played in CCA playgrounds was 1,112 ± 1,089 ng (median, 688 ; range 78-5,875) . Total average Cr on the hands of 64 children who played in non-CCA playgrounds was 652 ± 586 ng (median, 492 ; range 61-3,377) . The difference between the two groups is statistically significant (p < 0.01) . Cr levels were highly correlated to both Cu (r = 0.672) and As (r = 0.736) levels in CCA playgrounds (p≤ 0.01) , but not non-CCA playgrounds (r = 0.252 and 0.486 for Cu and As, respectively) . Principal-component analysis indicates that Cr, Cu, and As are more closely grouped together in CCA than in non-CCA playgrounds. These results suggest that the elevated levels of Cr and As on children’s hands are due to direct contact with CCA wood. Key words: CCA, children’s exposure, chromated copper arsenate, chromium, playgrounds, treated wood. Environ Health Perspect 114:460-465 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8521 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 6 October 2005]
Address correspondence to X.C. Le, Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, 10-102 Clinical Sciences Building, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2G3. Telephone: (780) 492-6416. Fax: (780) 492-7800. E-mail: xc.le@ualberta.ca We thank P. Cardinal, D. Ehrman, C. Englot, D. Kirchner, R. Zolkiewski, X. Lu, R. Xing, and K. Carastathis for their contribution to this study. We thank EnviroTest Laboratories (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) for performing the analysis of chromium and arsenic in soil samples. We also thank the participating children and their parents for their cooperation. This study was supported by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the Metals in the Human Environment Research Network, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, Alberta Health and Wellness, Capital Health, the City of Edmonton, and Environment Canada. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 21 July 2005 ; accepted 6 October 2005. The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
