Buyer perceptions and purchasing patterns related to treated wood use in children's playground equipment.

摘要

In recent years, there has been ample negative publicity in the media about potential hazards to human health from exposure to chromated copper arsenate-treated wood. In particular, children have been targeted as an at-risk population to exposure from playing on outdoor playground equipment constructed from treated wood. In this study, children's playground equipment buyer perceptions about treated wood were examined. The research objectives were to better understand attitudes of children's outdoor play equipment buyers and buying patterns for treated wood. A mail survey of a national random sample of 2,800 users of children's playground equipment was conducted. User groups included pre-schools, daycare centers, municipal parks, and K-8 schools. Thirty-nine percent of buyer respondents currently have outdoor play equipment fabricated with treated wood while 61 percent do not. Thirty-three percent had either a somewhat or very positive perception about treated wood, while 41 percent of respondents fell at the midpoint indicating a neutral position. Of the respondents that have purchased playground equipment fabricated with treated wood, 40 percent were concerned about health risks to children. When put in context with other materials used to fabricate playground equipment that respondents plan to purchase, treated wood ranks a distant fourth after plastic, steel, and aluminium.