Is pressure-treated wood safe for a deck where children play in Riverview NB?

Yes, modern pressure-treated wood sold in Canada since 2004 is considered safe for residential decks where children play — it uses alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) or copper azole (CA) preservatives rather than the older chromated copper arsenate (CCA) that raised health concerns, and Health Canada has not restricted its use in any residential application including playground structures.

The concern about pressure-treated wood and children's safety stems from the era of CCA treatment, which was the industry standard from the 1970s through 2003. CCA contained arsenic as its primary insecticidal and antifungal agent, and studies showed that arsenic could leach from the wood surface, particularly in warm and wet conditions. Children, who are more likely to put their hands in their mouths after touching deck surfaces and who have lower body weight relative to any exposure, were identified as the most vulnerable population. In response, the Canadian wood treatment industry voluntarily phased out CCA for residential use effective December 31, 2003.

The ACQ and copper azole treatments that replaced CCA use copper as the primary preservative, combined with quaternary ammonium compounds rather than arsenic or chromium. Copper is a naturally occurring element essential to human nutrition in small quantities and is used extensively in household plumbing throughout Riverview and all of New Brunswick. The quaternary ammonium compounds are the same class of chemicals used in common household disinfectants. While no chemical treatment is entirely without risk, the toxicological profile of modern treated wood is fundamentally different from CCA, and regulatory agencies in Canada, the United States, and Europe have all concluded that it poses no significant health risk in normal residential use.

There are practical precautions that parents in Riverview should follow when children regularly play on a pressure-treated deck. New pressure-treated wood has a higher surface concentration of preservative chemicals during its first few months, so allowing a new deck to weather for 60 to 90 days before children play on it barefoot is a reasonable precaution. This period also allows the initial surface moisture to stabilize, which reduces splinter risk — and splinters are honestly a more immediate physical hazard for children on treated wood decks than chemical exposure.

Sealing or staining the deck provides an additional barrier between the treated wood and skin. A quality penetrating deck stain or sealant, applied after the wood has dried sufficiently (typically 3 to 6 months for kiln-dried after treatment lumber, or one full season for wet-treated lumber), encapsulates the surface and dramatically reduces any chemical transfer. This also protects the wood from Riverview's freeze-thaw cycles, UV exposure, and moisture fluctuations that cause checking, splitting, and cupping in unsealed pressure-treated lumber.

Encourage children to wash their hands after playing on the deck and before eating. If you are building a play area on the deck, consider placing a washable outdoor rug or play mat in that zone to create a barrier between small hands and the wood surface.

If your Riverview home has an older deck that may predate the 2004 CCA phase-out, you can test the wood with a CCA detection kit available from hardware stores for $25 to $40. CCA-treated wood typically has a greenish tint that weathers to grey-green, while ACQ-treated wood weathers to a similar grey but often shows a slight brownish cast. If your deck tests positive for CCA, seal it thoroughly with a penetrating oil-based stain every 1 to 2 years, which binds surface arsenic and prevents transfer to skin. Many families with young children choose to replace CCA decking for peace of mind, and composite decking is an alternative that eliminates chemical treatment concerns entirely.

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