Tleating industry targeted by pressr lawyers

A RASH of newspaper articles questioning the safety of ^CLCCA pressure treated wood has the wood preserving industry up in arms.

On March ll, the St. Petersburg Times launched a series of articles, titled "The Poison in Your Back Yard." The newspaper claimed that, according to studies they funded, "pressure treated wood used to build local playgrounds, decks and picnic tables is leaking arsenic at levels far higher than the state considers safe." The articles also cited a handful of residents in different states who claimed to have been harmed by CCA.

Immediately, cities began chaining off local playgrounds and some hysterical residents called for wood structures to be demolished. Newspapers across the country began running similar articles.

The American Wood Preservers Institute quickly defended CCA's 60-year history of safe use with a public statement and a newspaper editorial by toxicologist Dr. Christopher Teaf, who recently completed three studies on health considerations of CCA treated wood.

"It would take far more arsenic in soil than what I have seen in scientific reports or the press before any threat of health effects to children might occur," Dr. Teaf wrote. "As a husband and a father of two young sons, with a playset in the backyard, I plan no changes. The product has been used safely for generations, and I have seen no reason why it shouldn't continue to be properly used in the future."

The articles coincided with the filing of a lawsuit in federal court in Miami that accuses the pressure treating industry of deceiving consumers about the dangers of their products.

The suit calls treated wood "defective and unsafe" and accuses treated wood producers and resellers of concocting a campaign of "misrepresentation, omission and halftruths" to cover up its harmful effects.

The lawyers, who reportedly have been involved in tobacco litigation, are seeking to have it certified as a class-action case. So far, their one plaintiffis Jerry Jacobs, a Dade County resident who owns a deck made of CCA treated wood.

The defendants include chemical suppliers Osmose and Arch Chemicals, leading retailers Home Depot and Lowe's, and treaters Hoover Treated Wood Products, Thomson, Ga.; Robbins Manufacturing Co., Tampa, Fl.; Wood Treaters Inc., Jacksonville, Fl.; Roy O. Martin Lumber Co., Alexandia, La., and Follen Wood Preserving Co., Jackson, Ms., and suggests others will be added later.

The list appears random considering, for example, the omission of rival chemical producer CSI and the inclusion of Roy O. Martin, which has only been using CCA for a few months.

The suit claims that all parties are responsible for any environmental or health problems because, among other things, the industry is not properly distributing warning sheets to consumers despite promises it made to federal regulators 15 years ago.

The EPA is currently reviewing CCA and considering whether to make the Consumer Information Sheets mandatory.

The suit wants the defendants to pay for removal of decks, playground sets and other structures built with CCA treated wood, clean up contaminated soils, and pay for medical monitoring and testing for people who may be at risk. The plaintiff also seeks punitive damages.

The defendants could not comment on specifics of the case, since by press time none had yet been served.

Arch Chemicals did find the suit "troubling," said spokesman Huck DeVenzio. "Certainly we are concerned, but we stand by the record and science behind CCA, and we have never shirked from independent testine of our products."

Being Face-To-Face May BenefitBig Boxes

An increasingly familiar scene ing customers to a competitor." nationwide finds Home Depot and Long term, Professor Marco Lowe's units located directly across believes customers will choose the street from one another, a setup whichever store gives them an overall that some view as being advantageous better shopping experience. to both stores, despite initial customer Gfeller said customer loyalty in the losses. home improvement sector is not as

"They can actually draw off each high as most people think. "We like it others' customers," says Gayle Marco, when we open up a Lowe's across associate professor of marketing at from a Home Depot," he says. "We're Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh. finding that the consumer is more crit-

Bob Gfeller, Lowe's senior vice ical and analytical in how they make president of marketing, advertising their choice. We're finding we can go and communications, says that when a toe to toe." Home Depot operates across the street

Nevertheless, Marco says, history from a Lowe's, which is the case at 57 indicates one of the giants has to fail. locations nationwide, everything from "It's destined to happen," he asserts. store management to parking lot lines "After all, how much more can we fix to store signage is carefully reviewed. up? We are in a fix-up phase, but

"We'll step back and make sure we there's only so much we can remodel go over it two or three times to make anymore." sure that store's performing as it should be," he says, adding that the average nine-month perioJbetween

Structural Panel Output Up

the inking of a real estate deal and the North American structural wood store opening is ample time to prepare. panel production increa sed 2Vo in

"Any kind of business hit we take, 2000, the eighth consecutive year of as customers might try a competitor, is increased output, according to APAshort-lived," he says. "If stores aren't The Engineered Wood Association. in great shape, or if management isn't At a record 40'3 billion sq. ft., proin great shape, you run the risk of los- duction was up approximately 100 million ft. from the previous year, though plywood production declined 319 million ft. to 19.68 billion bd. ft. OSB production increased by 432 million ft. to 20.65 billion bd. ft.

Sanded plywood production was down l0% to 2.55 billion sq. ft., while rough plywood production decreased by 100 million ft.

A decline in housing starts caused LVL output to dip somewhat, while glufam production increased l47o to 377 million bd. ft. I-joist production also slipped about 37o to 865 million linear ft.

Willamette Lumber SFI-Ok'ed

Effective June l, lumber products from Willamette Industries, Inc., Albany, Or., will carry a stamp indicating the firm is a Certified Participant in the Sustainable Forestry Initiative.

The company also has replaced its familiar bright red end seal in favor of an environmentally-friendly clear wax product.

Willamette will continue producing anti-stain treated lumber, now with a wrap around tag with grade, piece count, size and bar code information for inventory purposes.

Nu Forest Products is a full line lumber distribution yard that, unlike many, has a wide range of milling equipment that enables us to handle all your specialized needs. NFP can mill lengths of 8" to 38'-your stock or ours.

Ptrr, let Nu Forest Products prime your stock through our Paint-o-Matic and drying oven, Protected with two coats of top quali$ primer to minimize moisture problems, NFP Primed Products perform better.

Our inventory includes Redwood (10 & Green), Douglas Fir (KD Clears & Dimension, Timbers). Pine I{D (Commons & Clears), Western Red Cedar (Select lftrotty, Clears, Timbers), Hem-Fir {Fascia), Fingerjoint (DF, Redwood, WRC), Prcssure Tfeated DF, and RMT Engir:eered Timbers.

Kent Bond has been named president and ceo of All-Coast Forest Products, Cloverdale, Ca. Daryl Bond remains chairman and Steve Fowler, general mgr., Denver, Co., is also a v.p.

Carol O'Connor and Ron Orban are new to sales at Anfinson Lumber Sales. Fontana. Ca.

Hien Bui is new to sales and marketing at Swan Secure Products, Portland, Or.

F. Jeff Duncan has been promoted to v.p. and chief information officer for Louisiana-Pacific Corp., Portland, Or. M. Ward Hubbell, ex-International Paper, is now v.p., corporate affairs.

Steve Hildreth, ex-Redwood Empire, and Vince Vierra, ex-Universal Forest Products, have joined the sales team of Conrad Forest Products, North Bend, Or.

Jerry Pugmire has rejoined the building materials distribution division of Boise Cascade Corp., Phoenix, Az., as a sales rep.

Randy Gregory, ex-Lumber Country, is now in sales with Remington Trading Co., Tualatin, Or.

Peter McKibbin, senior v.p., Contact Lumber Co., Portland, Or., and Robert Lumm, senior technical sales, Schnee-Morehead, Santa Fe Springs, Ca., have been elected to the board of the Window and Door Manufacturers Association.

Richard Reiten has been appointed to the board of directors of BMC West parent Building Materials Holding Corp., Portland, Or., succeeding Robert Hansberger, who retired in December.

Jim Quinn, former ceo, Collins Pine, has joined the advisory board of Built-e. Seattle. Wa.

Jim Stark is now overseeing the Environmental Education Initiative for Weyerhaeuser Co., Springfield, Or.

Dan Bachmayer is new to sales at Sierra Pacific Windows. Andersen. Ca., covering Central California. Other new sales reps: Reg Beach, N.M.; Larry Dunne, Lake Forest, Ca.; Karen Eagan, Co.; Magdi Ghali, Las Vegas, Nv.; Paul Holt and Paul Wickswat, Seattle, Wa.; Lloyd Peterson, Az., and Jeff Thompson, Salt Lake City, Ut.

Grant T. Muller has been named western regional sales mgr. of Mikron Industries, Kent, Wa. Martin Ellis has been named executive v.p. of exterior building products for CertainTeed Corp.

Beth Scott has been named marketing product mgr. for Custom Building Products, Seal Beach, Ca.