Andre Carson: “today I rise to thank Chairman Walsh and Ranking Member Mollohan for taking a reasonable first step in responding to the…”

“today I rise to thank Chairman Walsh and Ranking Member Mollohan for taking a reasonable first step in responding to the escalating concerns parents have voiced over the effects of arsenic-treated wood playground equipment on their children. Included in the VA-HUD conference report is a provision requested by myself and Senator Ben Nelson of Florida. The provision directs the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Environmental Protection Agency to report to the committee within 3 months on their most up-to-date understanding of the potential health and safety risks to children playing on and around arsenic-treated wood playground equipment. The report will also include the steps the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission are taking to keep state and local governments, and the public, informed about the risks associated with arsenic-treated wood. It responds to a study released today by the Environmental Working Group and the Healthy Building Network, which estimates that one our of every 500 children who regularly play on swing sets and decks made from arsenic-treated wood will develop lung or bladder cancer later in life as a result of these exposures. It is important in these times of changing priorities that the health and well-being of children remain foremost in our minds. The parents of Indianapolis and communities all over the Nation are looking forward to the findings of this report.”