Pexels.com; Lela
Spring and early summer are the times of year when schools, churches and property owners make investments in their outdoor areas, including playgrounds. One of the most popular fall-safety and ground cushioning products is rubber mulch. Rubber tiles, which many people think of when they think of playground safety, can only be used on paved or stabilized surfaces. Paving is not always possible or even desirable.
[Contamination of rubber mulch may come from] dangerous toxins that tires ... encounter when on the road, such as petrochemicals or lead contaminants from roadway paint.
While rubber mulch has become a popular option for fall safety, there have been problems with the mulch produced from shredded tires. There is sometimes steel cabling and wiring that can become exposed. But even worse are the chemicals from the tires, reports manufacturer Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch, maker of virgin, non-toxic, pre-consumer playground rubber mulch. These chemicals are often the real cause of children becoming covered in black soot, Jelly Bean asserts. In addition to the composition of the tires there is the issue of contamination. These are the dangerous toxins that tires might encounter when on the road, such as petrochemicals or lead contaminants from roadway paint.
This is not playground dirt
In a study conducted last year by Gaboury Benoit, Ph.D., the Grinstein Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Yale University’s Environment School (see link at the end of this article), researchers identified multiple toxic compounds in sample shredded tire mulch. According to the study’s abstract, of these compounds, “nine are known carcinogens and another 20 are recognized irritants, including respiratory irritants that may complicate asthma.” *
While these are alarming findings, according to Nic Campesi, CEO of Jelly Bean Rubber Mulch, “Purchasers of playgrounds should not turn away from rubber mulch, since rubber mulches made from virgin rubber ... have been proven to be safe for children.”
Campesi continues, “Rubber mulch provides superior fall and injury prevention for children and can be counted on to perform reliably for years. We encourage [those] making playground purchasing decisions to look into this and learn more.”
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* Find a full report funded by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies here:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11270-018-3711-7
