Safety

Age Appropriate

Age appropriate design of playground equipment and layout is recommended by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). The rationale for this recommendation is that playgrounds should offer a series of “graduated challenges… appropriate for age-related abilities …that children can perceive and choose to undertake.”1

1. “Pubic Playground Safety Handbook,” U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Section 1.6-Background, p. 3.

Arsenic

Arsenic is the main ingredient in a wood preservative called chromated copper arsenate (CCA). CCA consists of chromium, copper and arsenic. CCA is a registered chemical pesticide that is subject to regulation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).1

1. “Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA)-Treated Wood Used in Playground Equipment.” Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Fact Sheet. <http://www.cpsc.gov/phth/ccafact.html> 25 Feb. 2011.

Bone Fractures

Bone fracture injuries account for about two-thirds of all injuries on playgrounds. Nearly all of these fractures (90%) involve upper limbs and come from falls from monkey bars or climbing frames.1 Woltzman also found that injuries in children ages 1-4 years old were more likely to involve bone fractures. Lillis and Jaffe found that most hospitalizations due to playground injuries were from fractures of upper extremities. They found that older children’s fractures were mainly from climbing apparatus, while younger children were generally injured on slides.2

1. Beaty, James H. and James R. Kasser. Rockwood and Wilkins’ Fractures in Children: Text Plus Integrated Content. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009. p. 303.
2. Ibid.

Certified Playground Safety Inspector

A Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) has passed the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI)'s examination. The ASTM International (ASTM) and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are the safety standards used for this test. NRPA began the Safety Institute examinations in 1991 to promote the latest public playground industry standards and guidelines.

Chemicals and Poisons

Various hazardous chemicals and poisons can sometimes be found in a playground environment. These are the result of treatments applied to play equipment or living organisms that affect playground areas.

Arsenic

Arsenic is the main ingredient in a wood preservative called Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA). This preservative was used for wood play equipment in both residential and commercial settings until 2004 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and CCA manufacturers agreed to discontinue manufacturing it because of the toxic nature of the preservative. Both the wood play equipment and the landscaping ties that contain the protective surfacing could still contain this preservative if they predate 2004.

Choking and Strangulation

Choking occurs when children cannot breathe normally because their airway is obstructed. This injury can be serious and even fatal. Small children who put things in their mouths are the most susceptible to this type of injury. Small stones, small pieces of bulk playground surfacing material, toy parts, and food are among the items that might cause a choking hazard.

Strangulation occurs when something is wrapped around a child’s neck that restricts his breathing so oxygen cannot get to the brain. Strangulation hazards are related to the design of play equipment, the maintenance of play equipment, supervision, and inappropriate play behavior.

Critical Height

Falls from playground equipment are the most frequent type of injury to children on playgrounds and head injuries are the most frequent cause of death in playground equipment-related falls. The ASTM International (ASTM) Standard F1292 is designed to provide a testing method for surfacing materials that will allow assessment of impact attenuation of playground surfacing and thus reduce the severity and frequency of fall-related head injuries.1 The term “Critical Height”is the key to understanding the purpose and method described in ASTM F1292.

1. American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Standard F1292-09. “Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surfacing Materials Within the Use Zone of Playground Equipment,” Introduction, p. 1.

Crush and Shear

Crush or shear hazards could cause the user to have the following injuries: “…contusion, laceration, abrasion, amputation or fracture during the use of playground equipment.”1 Crush and shear hazards should not be accessible to children using a playground.2

Crush and shear hazards are points found in places where parts move against each other or a fixed part. Examples of this type of movement are found in fulcrum see-saws, suspension bridges, track rides, swings, whirls, and roller slides.

1. “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use,” ASTM International (ASTM), 3.1.9, p. 3.
2. “Public Playground Safety Handbook,” U.S.Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Playground Hazards, 3.1, p. 14.

Designated Play Surface

A designated play surface has been defined by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in its Public Playground Safety Handbook as “any elevated surface for standing, walking, crawling, sitting, or climbing, or a flat surface greater than 2 inches wide by 2 inches long having an angle less than 30 degrees from horizontal.”1 The definition refers to the smallest surface that a child might be able to access and attempt to play on. This identification is mainly for the protection of younger children from potential hazards.

1. “Public Playground Safety Handbook.” U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Section 1.8 Definitions, p. 4.

Dirty Dozen

The National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) is committed to promoting safe play environments for children. When the National Playground Safety Institute (NSPI) was formed as part of NRPA, the NPSI Board of Directors along with their instructors prioritized a list of what they considered to be the top twelve safety issues that result in playground injuries. The list they compiled is generic in nature and easily understood as a reference for educators, parents, and caregivers as well as agency professionals. Published as The Dirty Dozen, the pamphlet has changed in appearance over the years but the content has remained the same.

Drawstrings

Drawstrings, particularly on hoods and necks of children’s clothing, can become entangled on playground equipment and cause death by strangulation.1

1. “Public Playground Safety Handbook.” Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), 3.2.1, p. 14.

Entanglement

Entanglement is a “…condition in which the user’s clothing or something around the user’s neck becomes caught or entwined on a component of playground equipment.”1

The causes of entanglement include projections, protrusions, and open hooks, such as “S” hooks and gaps, that could entrap a child’s clothing.

1. “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use,” ASTM International (ASTM), 3.1.12., p. 3.

Entrapment

Entrapment is defined as “…any condition which impedes withdrawal of a body or a body part that has penetrated an opening.”1

Gaps can be small enough to entrap fingers or large enough to entrap heads. In between are the sizes of gaps that could entrap hands, knees, or ankles.

The ASTM International (ASTM) Standard F1487 and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook address the types of entrapment that might cause a life threatening injury. These are head and neck entrapment.

1. Standard F1487-07, Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use, ASTM International (ASTM), 3.1.13, p. 3.

Fall Height

Fall height is a measurement defined as the “vertical distance between a designated play surface and the protective surfacing beneath it.”1

1. ASTM International Standard F1292, “Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surfacing Materials Within the Use Zone of Playground Equipment,” 3.1.3, p. 2.

Head Injury Criteria

Head Injury Criteria is a measurement of the time duration of head deceleration during impact. A mathematical formula is used to derive a value known as Head Injury Criteria or HIC. The value of HIC with regard to the impact on a playground surface may not be more than 1000.1

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) publication 325-97, “Handbook for Public Playground Safety,” Section 4.1, pp. 3-4.

Hidden Dangers on the Playground

Playgrounds are intended to be fun, safe places to take children to visit and play. The National Playground Safety Institute (NPSI), a program developed under the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), has identified twelve of the leading causes of injury on playgrounds known as “The Dirty Dozen.” These dangers include improper protective surfacing, inadequate use zones, and protrusion, entanglement, and entrapment hazards to name a few.1

1. The Dirty Dozen: Are they hiding in your child’s playground? Arlington, Virginia. National Recreation and Park Association.

Impact Attenuation

Impact attenuation of playground surfacing material is the measure of its shock absorbing properties. The shock absorbing properties are measured by dropping an instrumented metal headform onto the surface and recording the force of impact and the time of deceleration. The specifications for impact attenuation are found in ASTM International Standard F1292, “Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surface Systems Under and Around Playground Equipment.”1

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), “Public Playground Safety Handbook, 2010, Section 2.4, p. 8.

Inspection Gauges and Tools

Playground inspectors use a wide array of gauges and tools in their inspections to be sure playgrounds meet the safety specifications detailed in the appropriate ASTM International (ASTM) Standards and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Public Playground Safety Handbook.

Lead Hazards

Lead has been identified as a potential health hazard found in both children’s playgrounds and in artificial turf. The effects of lead ingestion or inhaling are cumulative.1 Ingestion occurs when children touch the objects containing lead, such as deteriorated lead-based playground paint or inhale lead dust released from turf fibers.

Lead poisoning affects the body in the following ways:

1. “CPSC Staff Recommendations for Identifying and Controlling Lead Paint on Public Playground Equipment.” National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA), Certification Course for Playground Safety Inspectors Manual, p. IV-24.

Mold

Mold can frequently be found on playgrounds with wood surfaces and in wood mulch. The mold that most commonly grows on wood playground surfaces is called a slime mold. This mold is irregular in shape and grows in various colors such as brown, yellow, pink, or white. Slime molds are a temporary nuisance and are generally confined to small areas.1 They do not pose health hazards to humans unless eaten, but they may appear unpleasant.2

1. “Slime Molds.” Cornell University Cooperative Extension of Westchester County, Fact Sheet.
2. “What is Growing in my Landscape Mulch?” Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension, 1997.

Protrusion

A protrusion on playground equipment is a projection that has the potential to cause bodily injury to a user who comes in contact with it.1 Protrusions are not allowed to be on playground equipment. A Certified Playground Safety Inspector (CPSI) uses his projection gauges to determine whether projections are protrusions.2

Protrusions can be as small as a nail or bolt, or as large as a handhold or rung that is projecting out from play equipment.

1. “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use.” ASTM International (ASTM) standard F1487-07, 3.1.29, p. 4.
2. Ibid., ASTM F1487, Section 6.3, pp. 6-7.

S.A.F.E.

The National Program for Playground Safety (NPPS) was created in October of 1995 to help communities across the nation examine the critical issues surrounding playground safety. S.A.F.E. is an acronym created by NPPS and used in its National Action Plan to help the public create safe play environments for children. The purposes of the National Action Plan and the S.A.F.E. acronym are to provide a blueprint for playground safety.1

1. “S.A.F.E.--National Action Plan.” National Program for Playground Safety. < http://www.playgroundsafety.org/safe/index.htm> 3 Feb. 2011.

Signs and Labels

Signs and labels on and around playground equipment provide information and user education about playgrounds. They are also an important part of a playground safety program. Some types of signs are required and some are recommended. Some required signs have specific wording specified.1

The signs and labels typically associated with playgrounds are as follows:

1. Kutska, Kenneth. Playground Safety is No Accident, Fourth Edition. International Playground Safety Institute, 2009.

SLYDE the Playground Hound

SLYDE the Playground Hound is a character created by Curtis Stoddard to teach playground safety awareness to children ages 2-12 years of age. As a playground contractor, Curtis observed that, “For all the strides the playground industry had made for manufacturing and installing playgrounds that are safe, there was still a lack of understanding about the inherent dangers of playground by the users, children.”1

1. “School Safety in the Spotlight.” Idaho Press, 31 Jan. 2003.

Suspended Hazards

A suspended hazard is a non-rigid component such as a cable, wire or unattached swing chain that is suspended between play structures or from the ground to the play structure that is within 45 degrees of horizontal unless it is above 84 inches and is a minimum of 1” wide at its widest point. In addition, the rope, cable, or chain must be fastened at both ends and may not be capable of being looped back on itself creating an inside loop perimeter greater than 5 inches.1

The following are exceptions to this specification:

1. ASTM International (ASTM) Standard F1487-07a. “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use,” Section 6.6, p. 8.

Swing Safety

Swing safety is a very complex issue. There are three different types of swings, placement requirements, use zone requirements, requirements for the type of fasteners and suspending elements, and surfacing requirements that must all be taken into consideration.

The different types of swings include single axis or to-fro swings, multi axis swings, such as tire swings, and combination swings. Combination swings are a new style of swing for the U.S. They have been used in Europe for some time. The swings are designed for two people to use at a time.

Triax 2000

The Triax 2000 Surface Impact Tester (SIT) is a portable, free-fall playground surface impact tester. Children falling from playground equipment account for 79% of all playground equipment related injuries each year.1 The two factors that decide the severity of playground falls are the fall height and the type of surface in the play space. The Triax 2000 is used to assess the safety of the surfacing below the playground equipment based on the height of the equipment.

1. Skulski, Jennifer K., CPSI. “City of Detroit Sets Strict Specs to Ensure New Playground Surfaces are Safe and Accessible.” National Center on Accessibility. < http://www.ncaonline.org/making-the-grade/detroit.shtml > 28 Nov. 2011.