Toy Safety News

Denver, Colorado — Hard surfacing, equipment that is too high, and swings that are too close together pose preventable hazards to children at a majority of public playgrounds across the country, according to a survey released today by Colorado Public Interest Research Group (CoPIRG).

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, almost 190,000 children were treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2001 as a result of injuries sustained on public playground equipment. Each year between 15 and 20 children die as a result of playground injuries. "Playgrounds can be wonderful places for children to have fun and face new challenges, but far too many playgrounds contain hazards that can injure and even kill," said Rex Wilmouth.

"Parents should be advocates for safer local playgrounds," added Elen Crone. "Unfortunately, we easily located many unsafe playground surfaces and equipment that can lead to injuries and deaths."

In their sixth national survey of public playgrounds, the state PIRGs and Consumer Federation of America (CFA) surveyed 1,037 playgrounds in 36 states and Washington, D.C., including 20 in Colorado. The researchers focused on the hazards that cause the most serious playground injuries: falls, impacts with moving swings, entanglement and head entrapment.

Because 80% of all injuries are caused by falls, protective surfacing under and around playground equipment is critical. At 75% of playgrounds across the country, researchers found inadequate surfacing. In Colorado, all of the playgrounds surveyed had inadequate surfaces. The report also found that 50% of climbers and 25% of slides in Colorado were more than six feet high. Nationally, 52% of climbers and 35% of slides were too high. "Children face serious injury on playgrounds when they fall from equipment that is too high onto surfacing that is too hard," said Rex Wilmouth.

Impact with moving swings causes 69% of all swing injuries. Swings that are too close to each other or to other equipment increase the chance that a child will be hit by a moving swing. CoPIRG and CFA found swing safety hazards at 67% of playgrounds in Colorado, and 49% nationally. Surveyors also found that children can face strangulation hazards at 45% of Colorado playgrounds, because of head entrapment and clothing entanglement dangers caused by gaps, protrusions and other similar hazards.

The groups also found that 14% of the playgrounds they surveyed across the country and 10% in Colorado were made of wood that may be pressure treated. Some pressure treated wood may contain chromium copper arsenate, a known carcinogen. "We urge local authorities to test their playgrounds made out of wood for CCA. Children should not be exposed to toxic chemicals as they play on playgrounds," Elen Crone said.

The groups noted that nine localities and fifteen states have passed some form of regulation to protect their children from playground hazards. These regulations come in many forms and by many authorities-the strongest laws mandate safety requirements for playground design, installation, and maintenance in all public playgrounds, while the weakest merely recommend that child care providers take a class on product safety. In the absence of a mandatory federal law, the groups stressed that state and local advocacy efforts are crucial to protecting children from unsafe playgrounds.

"We know that playground safety regulations reduce injury," said Rex Wilmouth, citing a 2002 study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health. The study documented a 22% decrease in the rate of injuries at childcare centers in North Carolina since the state enacted a requirement that all new playground equipment and surfacing in childcare facilities conform to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) guidelines.

CFA has produced a Model Law on Public Play Equipment and Areas that contains detailed provisions addressing safety and design for all play equipment and areas, as well as separate requirements specifically intended for equipment for both preschoolers and children at elementary schools. The groups encouraged state and local jurisdictions to adopt these requirements and use them when purchasing new equipment or when refurbishing, remodeling or maintaining existing playgrounds. "The CFA Model Law is a blueprint for safe playgrounds. It goes beyond the voluntary guidelines in its requirements and gives legislators the child development rationale for critical safety measures," concluded Elen Crone. The model law is available on the web at www.safechild.net.