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Children may be exposed to arsenic during contact with structures treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA). A high frequency of hand-to-mouth activity may increase their risk of ingesting arsenic. Previous work showed that arsenic concentrations in the hand-wash samples of children playing on CCA playgrounds were four times higher than those playing on non-CCA playgrounds. It is not clear whether playing on CCA playgrounds results in elevated overall exposure to arsenic. The objective of this study was to perform arsenic biomonitoring in children to determine whether playing on CCA-treated playgrounds substantially contributes to their overall exposure to arsenic. One hundred and twenty five saliva samples from 61 children and 101 urine samples from 45 children were collected after children played on 8 CCA and 8 non-CCA playgrounds. Arsenic speciation analysis was conducted using high performance liquid chromatography combined with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The arsenic species detected in the urine and saliva samples from children playing on CCA and non-CCA playgrounds were similar. Dimethylarsinic acid and arsenobetaine were the main arsenic species found in urine samples. The sum of inorganic trivalent and pentavalent arsenic, monomethylarsonic acid, and dimethylarsinic acid in urine was 15 ± 28 μg/L in the CCA group and 12 ± 23 μg/L in the non-CCA group (p = 0.60). The sum of these species in saliva was 1.1 ± 2.1 μg/L in the CCA group and 1.4 ± 1.1 μg/L in the non-CCA group (p = 0.32). These results show that there is no significant difference in the concentration or speciation of arsenic between the samples from children playing on CCA and non-CCA playgrounds. Contact with CCA playgrounds is not likely to significantly contribute to the overall arsenic exposure in children; other sources such as dietary arsenic may be a main contributor to their overall exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA) compounds has been used in residential outdoor wood structures and public playgrounds. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has conducted a probabilistic assessment of children's exposure to arsenic using the Stochastic Human Exposure and Dose Simulation model for the wood preservative scenario (SHEDS-Wood). The assessment relied on data derived from an experimental study conducted using adult volunteers and designed to result in maximum hand and wipe loadings to estimate the residue-skin transfer efficiency. Recent analyses of arsenic hand-loading data generated by studies of children actively involved in playing on CCA-treated structures indicate that the transfer efficiency coefficient and hand-loading estimates derived from the experimental study significantly overestimate the amount that occurs during actual play. OBJECTIVES: Our goal was to assess the feasibility of using child hand-loading data in the SHEDS-Wood model and their impact on exposure estimates. METHODS: We used data generated by the larger of the studies of children in SHEDS-Wood, instead of the distributions used by U.S. EPA. We compared our estimates of the lifetime average daily dose (LADD) and average daily dose (ADD) with those derived by the U.S. EPA. RESULTS: Our analysis indicates that data from observational studies of children can be used in SHEDS-Wood. Our estimates of the mean (and 95th percentile) LADD and ADD were 27% (10%) and 29% (15%) of the estimates derived by U.S. EPA. CONCLUSION: We recommend that the SHEDS-Woods model use data from studies of children actively playing on playsets to more accurately estimate children's actual exposures to CCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article introduces research reported elsewhere in the issue by analytical chemist Chris Le and others on exposure of children to arsenic contained in wood preservatives used in playground lumber. Health risks are reportedly low in comparison to other sources including food. The wood preservative at issue is chromated copper arsenate, where arsenate is said to be the most toxic inorganic form of arsenic.