The city of Rowlett is tearing down a beloved all-wood playground after officials discovered the wood is laced with arsenic.
City leaders learned that the wood used to build the Kids Kingdom playground was treated with arsenic after it recently failed inspections.
Manufacturers treat wood with arsenic to keep out bacteria, fungi and insects. But arsenic-treated wood was banned for use in playgrounds in 2003, said Jermel Stevensen, Rowlett director of parks and recreation.
Kids Kingdom was built by volunteers in 1998.
The inspections also other major safety issues on the all-wood playground. The wood is rotting and infested with termites and could collapse.
Rowlett is demolishing the playground, which led to concern from residents who worried that Kids Kingdom would not be rebuilt.
"It was extremely devastating," said resident Becky Sebastian, who attended numerous City Council meetings. "The panic began because when [we] don't understand the reasons why ... fear breeds panic."
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The city said it was not aware of the arsenic until recently. In May, the city had an external inspection that determined that 40 percent of the wood had been treated with arsenic.
"We're likening it to, if we give you a cup of water, do you want a little poison in it or no poison? And that's the way we look at this playground," Stevenson said.
Residents say it was the city's responsibility to maintain the parks, even if monetary resources were cut over the years.
"I have issues when somebody says to me, 'A citizen didn't ask or bring up the safety issue,'" Sebastian said. "I don't think the citizens should ever have to ask the city to keep their park safe for their children."
Rowlett is setting aside $100,000 for a new playground. The money is half of the estimated $200,000 cost, the Rowlett Lakeshore Times reported. The City Council has not committed to building the replacement playground at the Kids Kingdom location, the newspaper reported.
"Hopefully we can get it rebuilt," said Meagan Hallmark, who used to play in the park as a child. "Everybody can continue to come here and other children who are growing up can here and have those memories like we did."
