Is arsenic in treated timber a health risk?
The APVMA confirms in its report that exposure to arsenic from treated timber is lower than that from many sources found in water and food. Arsenic also occurs naturally in all soils. Arsenic is the twentieth most common element in the earth’s crust and is present in very small quantities in almost everything we eat and drink. The APVMA has calculated that our normal, daily dietary intake of arsenic is 4.5 times more than expected exposure through contact with CCA-treated timber surfaces. Even when these two possible sources of arsenic are added together, the total is three times less than the daily allowable amounts set by the World Health Organisation.