"Rick Blaine" wrote in message
...
" wrote:

lead was believed to be harmless for many years.

But PROVEN to be highly dangerous.

the danger in treated decks is the ground under the deck, the dirt
accumulates the chemicals and can be eaten by children

And how many kids eat enough dirt for that to be a problem?

That's the problem when you change the focus of schools from critical
thinking
to political correctness. Instead of people who can think logically and
make
intelligent value judgments, you get people who respond emotionally.

Can you cite any statistics on deaths of children due to lead (or arsenic)
poisoning? I searched and couldn't find any. Closest I could do is find
mortality records for Illinois from 2005. The largest causes were
accidental and
motor vehicle.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/health/b...ngdeaths05.htm

Lead is perfectly safe when used, handled and stored properly. Parents
with kids
are supposed to be smart enough to baby proof and kid proof their homes.
And
supervising them so they aren't stuffing pounds of dirt down their
throats. With
or without arsenic.


Arsenic trioxide is readily absorbed by the digestive system: toxic effects
are also well known after inhalation of the dust or fumes and after skin
contact. Elimination is rapid at first (half-life of 1-2 days), by
methylation to cacodylic acid and excretion in the urine, but a certain
amount (30-40% in the case of repeated exposure) is incorporated into the
bones, muscles, skin, hair and nails (all tissues rich in keratin) and
eliminated over a period of weeks or months.