Poisonous wood leads man to Statehouse

WISH TV

Updated: Feb 9, 2011 8:02 PM

A Ripley County man headed to the Statehouse with hopes of changing state law when it comes to dangerous lumber.

Artie McGuire testified in front of the Environmental Affairs Committee Wednesday morning. During the hearing he described what happened to him and his family.

"By summer of 2001, I became seriously ill," said McGuire.

It started 10 years ago.

McGuire and his family were building their dream home in Madison, Ind. They did most of the work themselves. Artie says he purchased "salt treated" lumber to build a wrap around porch. As time passed, squirrels and cats on the property began dying.

Artie suffered migraines and rashes. His wife’s hair began falling out. His daughter suffered an outbreak of warts on her legs. His son, a teenager at the time, had a heart attack.

Medical tests found high levels of arsenic in their bloodstreams. Testing also found high levels of arsenic inside and outside the home.

McGuire says the arsenic was coming from the "salt treated" wood. He later discovered "salt treated" lumber was the common name for CCA treated lumber. CCA stands for chromium, copper and arsenic.

McGuire stopped construction and moved his family into the basement. Last year the Environment Protection Agency removed arsenic contaminated soil from the property.

Production of CCA treated lumber ended in 2003. That was too late for the McGuire family. Plus, the federal government allowed stores to sell all remaining stock.

McGuire says you can still purchase CCA treated lumber in Indiana. He wants that stopped.

With a lawsuit pending, McGuire is now working with his state representative to pass new legislation. House Bill 1059 would prohibit the sale of CCA treated lumber for residential use and require homeowners wanting to sell their homes to disclose if they have CCA treated wood on their property.

The Environmental Affairs Committee listened to McGuire’s story but it did not act. No vote was taken. McGuire was disappointed with that result but says he is not giving up.

"Whether or not it leaves committee, we don't know. Only time will tell. If it doesn't happen today, maybe it will happen tomorrow. We don't want to see any other family involved in this and have to go through what we went through," said McGuire.

In 2003 the federal government estimated 50 million homeowners had pressure treated wood structures — 90 percent of which contained the arsenic based compound.

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