D.C. The EPA is reviewing CCA to see if it should be re-registered as a pesticide. The researchers are studying disposal issues. In a series of tests, UF researcher Tim Townsend found that sawdust from CCA-treated wood consistently met the government's criteria for what is considered to be hazardous waste. Cutting the wood into small particles allows more arsenic to be released, he said. Toxicologists say there is enough arsenic in a single board of CCA-treated wood to kill 80 people and make hundreds very sick.
Different businesses handle sawdust differently.
Some, such as Monterey Boats in Williston, have special equipment to trap sawdust, which is stored in a bin until the garbage truck gets it. Many sweep the sawdust out the door, or leave it in the yard where workers are building decks or fences. Some, like Bruce Briscoe, let it pile up in their workshop. Briscoe said he couldn't afford to send his sawdust to a special landfill, which might cost up to several hundred dollars per drum. That way, it would still have to be collected, but could be sent to a lined landfill rather than a special landfill that takes only hazardous waste.