Lawsuit filed against lumber company in Alabama

BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA - A lawsuit filed in federal court claims that lumber company Georgia-Pacific Corporation exposed customers to arsenic in its products. <br> <br> The suit filed Wednesday in Birmingham, Alabama, claims that Georgia-Pacific sells treated lumber containing chromate copper arsenate, or CCA, concealing the danger of the human carcinogen to customers. <br> <br> CCA is a powerful pesticide used to protect lumber from decay and insect damage for use in playgrounds, decks and picnic tables. <br> <br> The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lists CCA as a wood preservative, but the federal agency reached an agreement with lumber companies in February to phase out its use in residential products by December 2003. <br> <br> The plaintiff named in the suit is Alabama state trooper Kevin Beasley, who claims he became seriously ill after handling CCA-treated wood while building a deck in May. <br> <br> The suit seeks class-action status and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. <br> <br> Georgia-Pacific spokeswoman Robin Keegan said the company is reviewing the lawsuit and could not comment.

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