"You are going to see a price bump of somewhere between 10 and 12 percent. Over time, the price will probably come down," said Home Depot's public relations director Don Harrison, citing a rise in competition and mass production in the lumber industry.

CCA, chromated copper arsenate, is a chemical compound mixture containing inorganic arsenic, copper and chromium that has been used as a wood preservative since the 1940s. Most pressure-treated wood found in local retail hardware stores is CCA-treated.

Lumber companies have halted production, in accordance with a voluntary agreement, of pressure-treated CCA lumber for consumer use, due to possible dangers of arsenic. Production stopped on Jan. 1.

A lack of communication within the commercial building industry has left some contractors with questions.

"There has not been a whole lot of communication between contractors, the state or building associations," regarding the new industry policy, said Don Paris, owner of Paris Contracting Inc. "I guess we can continue to use the old stock (of CCA wood). We have not received any formal notification from the Polk County Builder's Association. I do not think everyone is going to be on the same page for several months."

In February 2002, a voluntary decision was made by the lumber industry to move consumer use of treated lumber products away from a variety of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic by Dec. 31, 2003, in favor of new alternative wood preservatives.

Replacing the CCA wood will be the new ACQ preserved wood.

ACQ, ammoniacal copper quat Type B, is marketed under names such as ACQ Preserve and NatureWood. The new preservatives have been approved for use by the EPA.

"We will replace it (the CCA treated wood) with the alternative ACQ," Home Depot's Harrison said.

"The new product is coming in," he said. "With our product turnover, we do not expect CCA to stay long."

This transition affects most residential uses of wood treated with chromated copper arsenate, also known as CCA, including wood used in play structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways.

The statistical levels on arsenic researched by EPA are based on studies conducted in other countries. "The EPA always makes worst-case assumptions in cancer cases," Florida Department of Health's Dr. Joseph Sekerke said.

So far, the EPA and Florida Department of Health are not aware of any reported cases of arsenic poisoning in the U.S. due to the CCA lumber said Dr. Sekerke.

CCA is injected into wood by a process that uses high pressure to saturate wood products with the chemicals. CCA is intended to protect wood from dry rot, fungi, molds, termites, and other pests that can threaten the integrity of wood products.

The transition to new lumber alternatives will provide consumers with a different choice for their building needs.

The transition period will provide consumers with increasingly more non-CCA treated wood alternatives as the industry undergoes conversion and retooling of their industrial equipment and practices, while also allowing adequate time to convert treatment plants with minimal economic disruption for the industry's employees.

However, there are some concerns with builders in using ACQ wood. The higher levels of copper in the treated wood tend to cause a faster deterioration in flashings and fasteners.