Playground tiles are made in the U.S.A. from the most noteworthy quality SIR tire elastic blended with brilliant, UV-safe Color Mill EPSOM granules. The outcome is elastic of uniform quality and thickness that is perfect for play area surfacing and housetop applications. It gives a perfect and safe contrasting option to wood and elastic mulch. With 24 standard shading alternatives, three thicknesses, and indoor-outside capacities, Playground is the most adaptable elastic ground surface answer for now's play areas.
No play area is finished without well being surfacing to pad falls and bumbles. Produced in the U.S.A. from 100% reused elastic, Playground mats play area tiles are outlined only to decrease the danger of genuine harm connected with tumbles from play area hardware. From the customary pigmented line to the 18 plans of Playground Ultra, Playground is the play area security surface of decision for rebuilt and new play areas. It highlights simple establishment and support, intense shading decisions, and the business' exclusive 15-year guarantee! Playground has reliably driven the route in propelling the innovation to make elastic play area surfacing more secure and more open for offspring of all ages and capacities.
Custom logos and lettering are accessible
for raising support purposes or to recognize supports.
Our scope of support free elastic Playground Tiles are utilized for the most part for schools, youngster care offices, Montessori, neighborhood power play areas, group and clinic play areas. Our 35 mm 1 mx1m play area well being tiles are intended to pad the effect to a kid's head and body when a tyke lands on them. Our Playground Safety Tiles ensure kids in case of a fall. The 35 mm profound tile is extremely well known with junior schools, Montessori and private childcare offices. The basic fall tallness accomplished by our 35 mm play area well being tiles is 0.7 m CFH. The basic fall tallness is controlled by autonomous testing. It is a predetermined stature ( concurred by the play area administrative bodies ), that a tyke can tumble from, without managing a basic harm, when arriving on a specific well being surface. Every expansive Playground Safety Tile makes the presence of a block clearing plan. They look exceptionally well when introduced. Our huge 1m x 1m Playground Safety tiles have brilliant hostile to slip properties, they are quick to set down and alot more lenient of a somewhat uneven base than littler play area elastic tiles. They are an amazing answer for laying over a compacted stone base.
Our 1m x 1m Playground Safety tiles are heavy, each weighs 30 kg each. They are designed and certified for commercial, public and domestic playgrounds. We can offer other depths of playground safety tiles.Other depths include 42 mm, 50 mm,60 mm, 80 mm and 100 mm. Our playground safety tiles comply with British, Irish and European safety standards: - Please telephone us to discuss safety surface options / ideas. on (UK & NI ) Tel 01744 520 110, Rep of UK 01744 520 110 and internationally 01744 520 110 playground mats
Very Safe - range of critical fall heights
Excellent anti-slip properties
Excellent drainage properties - porous
Virtually Maintenance Free
Visually attractive ( brick paving design )
up to 20 year life span
Cost Savings
Our playground safety tiles are very cost effective particularly when compared to traditional wet pour rubber safety surfaces. As our playground safety tiles are manufactured in factory controlled conditions the high quality standards and dimensional tolerances of our playground safety tiles is maintained.
Long term - A working life expectancy of up to 20 years represents substantial savings both in terms of replacement cost savings but also and manpower saving.
Other benefits
The Our 35 mm playground safety Matshave excellent drainage properties. They are surface dry within minutes of the rain stopping. The have water guidance channels underneath to rapidly guide rain water away from the playground.
Main uses include:
Preschool Playgrounds
Private Childcare Facilities
Junior schools
Schools and Hospitals
Special needs Schools
Hotels, Golf Clubs and Holiday Resorts
Colours Available
We can offer our 35mm ( brick paving design ) playground safety tiles in two colors: red or green. We can also produce a black or a grey playground safety tile. Non Standard items require a manufacturing lead time of up to 3 - 4 weeks from confirmation of order.
Welcome
Is
Rubber Mulch a Safe Surface for Your Child's Playground?
The public playground in Brandon, a small town on the blustery coast of Oregon,
has everything a kid could want. Swings and an orange, twisting slide, even a
bright blue boat.
But after
the playground was installed in 2009, some mothers became concerned about the
springy black stuff beneath their children's feet. In addition to the new
equipment, the playground was outfitted with the latest in safety surfacing: a
pool of shredded rubber from old tires, also known as "rubber mulch,"
which can cushion kids' falls better than gravel or wood chips.
The
public playground in Brandon, a small town on the blustery coast of Oregon, has
everything a kid could want. Swings and an orange, twisting slide, even a
bright blue boat.
But after the playground was
installed in 2009, some mothers became concerned about the springy black stuff
beneath their children's feet. In addition to the new equipment, the playground
was outfitted with the latest in safety surfacing: a pool of shredded rubber
from old tires, also known as "rubber mulch," which can cushion kids'
falls better than grave l or wood chips
Vanessa Farmer said she struggled to
keep her daughter -- who was learning to walk at the time -- from putting tire
crumbs in her mouth. "My kids would just be tainted in black," she
said. "Their clothes would be black. And I just knew, this isn't
healthy."
Farmer and a handful of other
parents started to research rubber infill, the recycled crumbs and shreds of
old tire that in various forms have become an increasingly popular option for
cities, schools, and day cares looking for a safe play surface for kids. What
they found, they said, launched them on a campaign to replace the rubber.
"We know that there are
chemicals in tires, and we know that they are most likely not removed just by
shredding and putting them on a playground," said Brandon resident Shayla DeBerry-Osborne, who has four children under the age of 6. "I feel that if
we know about these potential risks to our children, it's our responsibility as
parents to limit the risk."
The U.S. government, however, is
sending parents like those in Bandon mixed messages about rubber mulch.
The rubber mulch in Bandon is made
of the same recycled tire rubber that is used as infill in crumb rubber
artificial turf. A previous NBC News investigation raised questions about the
safety of crumb rubber turf, which has been rolled out in thousands of U.S.
parks, soccer fields and stadiums. More than two dozen studies have attempted
to measure the potential health risks of crumb rubber surfaces. While many have
found no negative health effects, some doctors and toxicologists believe these
studies are limited and insufficient to establish conclusively that shredded
rubber surfaces are safe.
Click Here to
Read the Original NBC News Investigation
The difference between rubber mulch
and crumb rubber artificial turf is that the federal government actively
promotes the use of mulch -- despite conflicting signals from the agencies
charged with protecting children's health and ensuring consumer product safety.
The Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges that more studies of crumb
rubber need to be done, and has retracted an earlier assurance that crumb
rubber turf is safe. Both the EPA and the Consumer Product Safety Commission,
however, recommend and promote rubber mulch. The EPA has worked with industry
representatives and state officials to increase the use of tire mulch in
playgrounds, and the CPSC recommends mulch in the "Bible" it provides
to playground planners across the country.
Proponents of rubber mulch say it
protects kids from injuries, and that studies have proved crumb rubber to be
safe. Made of fragments that can be peppercorn-sized or as big as pine mulch,
the product is now showing up at day care centers, schools, even the playground
at the White House.
Share Your Synthetic Turf Stories
with Us
But as rubber infill moves from the
soccer field to the playground, some are asking whether that same rubber
presents a greater threat to young children, whose organs, muscles and nervous
systems are still developing.
"Children go to playgrounds
almost daily," said Dr. Philip Brigand, dean of global health at New York's Mt. Sinai Hospital and a top expert on the effect of chemicals on
children. And gifted athletes are on the soccer field almost every day.
That sort of cumulative exposure results in a buildup in their body of these
toxic chemicals, and can result in a buildup of cellular damage that's caused
by these chemicals, that can then result in disease years or decades
later."
"Little children should not be
put in a situation where they're forced to be in intimate contact with
carcinogenic chemicals," Dr. Androgen added.
Related
·How Safe Is the Artificial Turf Your
Child Plays On?
·Soccer Goalie Wonders If Synthetic
Turf Poses Health Risks
·High School Cancels Crumb Rubber
Turf Field After NBC News Report
·Voters Render Split Decision on
Synthetic Turf Playing Fields
·Congressman Cites NBC Report in
Calling for Study of Synthetic Turf
"It Was the Safest Thing for a
Kid to Fall Onto"
Since the 1970s, advances in
playground safety mat have focused on improving the impact attenuation of surfacing
-- or how much impact a surface can absorb -- and the safety of play equipment.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency rooms
treat over 200,000 kids, aged 14 and under, for playground-related injuries
every year.
Wood chips and pea gravel infill
became typical sights at playgrounds. But over the years, recycled tire rubber
-- both shredded and ground into round pieces -- has become popular. No
official count of playgrounds with recycled tire infill exists, but state grant
programs, federal efforts to promote tire infill and effective marketing by
manufacturers have made ground rubber one of the most-recommended surfaces on
the market today.
Michael Blumenthal, former vice
president of the Rubber Manufacturers Association and now an independent
consultant for the industry, said that studies have shown tire infill to have
higher impact attenuation than other surfaces, such as pea gravel. "In
other words," he said, "It was the safest thing for a kid to fall
onto."
Consumers, like town officials in
Bandon, like rubber infill for various reasons. In addition to its bounce, tire
is cheaper to maintain in the long run, some say, because it doesn't degrade
like wood chips or other organic materials.
Some states, in an effort to recycle
and repurpose old tires, incentivize the material. Kentucky, one of several
states that give grants to municipalities, school districts and other entities
to use crumb rubber, has funded 287 rubber-filled playgrounds since its program
began in 2004.
The town of Bandon looked "long
and hard" at what infill it would choose for the playground, said Michelle
Hampton, Bandon's city planner. Federal and independent safety manuals, Hampton
added, all point to rubber mulch as a safe surface for playgrounds.
"All of them say the same
thing," said Hampton. "This is an appropriate material to be used in
a playground tiles."
The playground at Bandon City Park
in Bandon, Oregon. NBC News
Parents interviewed in Bandon,
Oregon, and others from around the country who wrote to NBC News gave similar
testimonies about their young children putting tire in their mouths, and ending
up covered in black after playing on playgrounds filled with tire crumb.
Alisa O'Brien, a grandmother and a
registered nurse from Ft. Myers, Florida, had the same concerns as other
caregivers. "I would pick up my grandson from daycare each afternoon to
find his hands and arms up to his elbows covered in black," she said.
According to the EPA, benzene,
mercury, polystyrene-butadiene, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and arsenic,
among several other chemicals, heavy metals and carcinogens, have been found in
tires. Studies have found that crumb rubber can emit gases that can be inhaled.
When the material gets hot, it can increase the chances that volatile organic
compounds, or VOCs, and chemicals can "off-gas," or leach into the
air.
A previous investigation by NBC News
found that while many studies concluded that the crumb rubber in artificial
turf fields did not present acute health risks, they often added the caveat
that more research should be conducted.
One study that analyzed rubber mulch
and rubber mats, published in
the scientific journalChemo spherein 2013, concluded that
"Uses of recycled rubber tires, especially those targeting playground safety mats areas and other
facilities for children, should be a matter of regulatory concern."
When the group of parents approached
the town with their research, Hampton said she and other concerned officials
also set out to learn more about the rubber. "It was difficult," she
said. "There was never one study that's done that says, 'This is
absolutely safe, or this is toxic.' Basically it says, 'There needs to be
future studies, but at this particular time, it meets all of the standards
necessary for it to be considered safe.'"
"What's Low for a Child?"
Dr. Androgen, whose research in the
1970s on children exposed to lead by a smelting company, is credited with
spurring the widespread regulation of the heavy metal, said that currently
available studies on rubber infill are "inadequate."
There is not one study, he said,
that attempts to measure the effects that long-term, repeated exposure to tire
shreds or ground rubber could have on young children.
While the International Agency for
Research on Cancer says that, at low levels of exposure, carcinogenic chemicals
are safe, Landrigan said the repeated exposure of children to such carcinogens
and chemicals put them at greater risk than adults, even at low levels.
"My concern as a pediatrician
when somebody says that the levels are low is to ask the counter-question,
'What's low for a child?' " Androgen said. "I think for little
children who play right down with their faces on the ground, who pick up stuff
and put it in their mouths, who get crumb rubber on their skin in ways that adults
would almost never get it on their skin, that any level of exposure to a known
human carcinogen is too much."
Behavioral traits unique to
children, like putting things in their mouths, increase their risk of exposure.
They breathe, eat and drink more relative to their body weight than adults.
They also have many more years of life in which to develop disease triggered by
early exposure to a carcinogen.
"Children's cells and organs
are rapidly growing and developing," Brigand said. "Developmental processes are very complex. They're easily disrupted."
Several substances found in tires
are concerning, Androgen added. "Butane is a known human
carcinogen," he said. "Polystyrene is a neuro-toxic chemical. It can
cause injury to the brain and nerves. Truck tires also contain other toxic
chemicals. All of these chemicals that are part and parcel of the tires get
into the crumb, which goes into the field."
Industry representatives and
manufacturers say that crumb rubber is safe for children to playground mats on because the
manufacturing process binds the various components of tire, including carbon
black and solvents, into a "matrix" that makes it impossible for them
to leach out.
"Most people look at the raw
materials going into tires and say, 'This is a suspected causer of cancer, this
could be an endocrine disrupted," said Monumental, the consultant. But
after the manufacturing process, he said, "None of the raw materials that
go into a tire are available."
While play areas are by and large refreshing for their Energizing varieties of splendid hues and slides and stepping stools, a standout among st the most critical components goes unnoticed. Tyke play area well being ought to be the most essential main variable of what playground safety mats area thoughts are most appropriate for your home. This unsung well being legend is truth be told defensive play area surfacing material. One simple approach to see what is the best play area surface choice is to observe school play area surfaces. These open or private organizations take unique consideration to apply the best well being measures in their play areas since they oblige several youngsters every day. The accompanying is a rundown of what most schools are utilizing for their playground mats zones:
Wood fiber – Grade (B-): The as good as ever wood mulch, wood fiber is a more extended enduring variant of wood mulch. This was a typical sort of surfacing for open stops and schools because of the versatility of the wood against falls and effects. Be that as it may, this surfacing is a free fill material so it loses odds and ends after some time. This progressions the profundity of the surfacing everywhere throughout the playground tiles area the more it is utilized. At the point when the profundity is lower than the security standard, this surfacing is not successful for the full fall stature rating that it has been tried for. Incongruity is that the most utilized ranges will have minimal profundity because of utilization! It must be always kept up to guarantee that the surfacing is the right profundity or else it can get to be inadequate to shield youngsters from genuine harm in the event that they tumble from high play area gear. Wood fiber is likewise uncomfortable to keep running on assuming unshod, which is ensured to happen in a private play range. Free fill additionally makes the issue of covering sharp protests, for example, broken glass. Envision if a glass jug is dropped and breaks separated in the playground safety tiles area, it would be verging on difficult to discover every one of the shards of the glass. Wood likewise falls apart after some time so it should be supplanted. It is vital to stay watchful and keep any eye for any indications of mold or growth as this is a natural material. Wood fiber, be that as it may, has enhanced its capacity to keep up the same versatility against effect paying little mind to the climate or sogginess, not at all like the more seasoned form of wood mulch.
Rubber safety mats have turned into an apparatus of kids' playground areas in New York City, buffering heads, hands and other body parts when youngsters slip and fall. Yet, two news accounts today in The Day by day News and in Metro New York — question whether the mats themselves represent a danger: They can get so hot under the late spring sun that they can blaze exposed feet.
The Every day News found that a portion of the mats could get as hot as 160 degrees. Two of the city's blaze focuses apparently reported treating 10 instances of playground area smolders a year ago, and no less than three claims have been recorded by guardians over play area blazes.
"playground areas ought to be outlined with shades," Geoffrey Croft, the author of the NYC Park Advocates, a parks guard dog bunch, said in a telephone meeting. "The city ought to weight the producers to think of an answer."
This evening, Betsy Gotham, the city's open promoter and a previous city parks official, said in an announcement:
It's unsatisfactory that kids endure extreme and totally avoidable wounds because of gear introduced and kept up by the city. What number of blaze cases will it take before the city awakens and acts? Signs cautioning against uncovered feet on the play area are not adequate to guarantee youngsters' wellbeing. The city needs to accomplish more to secure youngsters, and in the meantime, guarantee the signs are really useful in notice and educating guardians of little kids about these perils.
In a telephone meeting, Adrian Benzene, the chief of the city's Branch of Parks and Entertainment, said the feedback was reasonable however outlandish.
He noticed that all parks have signs cautioning kids and different clients to wear shoes, and said that it was basic that guardians and overseers watch out for youths, who now and again need to run unshod. "On the off chance that you wear shoes, even on the most sweltering days, you won't smolder your feet," he said. "There aren't numerous instances of children with blazed feet that have been conveyed to our consideration."
The city's around 1,000 play areas all have hardware that adjusts to well being models set by the Shopper Item Security Commission and ASTM Worldwide, in the past the American Culture for Testing and Materials, Mr. Benepe included.
The government well being commission's Open Play area Security Handbook [pdf] determines a few sorts of materials endorsed for use as well being surfaces in play areas, including Rubber tangles and tiles, built wood fiber, pea rock, sand, destroyed or reused Rubber mulch and wood mulch or chips, yet Mr. Benepe said that Rubber mats were the best answer for New York City. A free fill surface, similar to one made of wood mulch or rock, would be hard to clean and keep safe in an intensely utilized urban space and could rapidly turn into a dumping ground for puppy waste and different perils like broken glass or needles.
"Those of us who are more established grew up with no Rubber security surfaces," Mr. Benzene said. "Before that, in the great New York City play area, the ground surface was black-top or cement, and individuals endured awful wounds, especially head wounds, from tumbles off play hardware, playground mats, swings. In any event, you cleaned your knee or elbow gravely."
Supplanting the majority of the Rubber security mats utilized as a part of the city's play areas could cost as much as $100 million, he assessed, and utilizing mats with lighter hues would decrease surface temperatures just somewhat.
"We will inspect all new advancements to diminish the temperature, if conceivable," he said. "We are continually refining play area plan and attempting make them safe. Actually, we do it so much that we get objections that our play areas are dull."
(In fact, with all the plastic measured hardware and protections, some guardians do grumble that playground safety mats areas have turned out to be less testing and a good time for kids, as The Times noted in a 2005 article.)
Dr. Kate Conan, a pediatric crisis doctor at the Alfred I. DuPont Doctor's facility for Youngsters in Wilmington, Del., and a senior proofreader at rubbermatting-uk.uk/, said in a telephone meeting that she had not experienced numerous case of foot blazes from security surfaces, and she concurred that shoes are vital for kids.
"It's not only the mats," said Dr. Conan, who has no association with New York City play area plan. "I prescribe to guardians that their children need to keep those shoes on. They'll be moving up rungs, playground equipment, wilderness exercise centers. To take shoes off makes a dangerous circumstance. Furthermore, I generally prompt that kids must wear shoes, not flip-lemon: they're adorable and fun, but rather can slip off your feet effortlessly. That is a formula for a fall."
Dr. Conan said she had seen instances of kids with red or disturbed feet from strolling crosswise over hot black-top on roads, in parking areas and in carports, however included: "You need to have more contact than quite recently like getting a handle to see a blaze damage from a bit of hardware. On the most sizzling days of the year, when those bits of hardware are excessively hot, the children tend, making it impossible to not have any desire to be on the playground safety mats area for a long stretch. Transitory getting of something that is hot shouldn't be sufficient time for introduction. Dislike touching a fire, or something that would blaze all the more rapidly."
Some examination has demonstrated that lighter-hued mats get hot less rapidly than dark mats, so a pilot venture to try out the lighter hues would be a smart thought, Dr. Conan said, including that New York City ought to likewise attempt to give however much shade as could be expected over the mats.
Rubber Outdoor Playground Matting Knocks Out All Other Surfaces:If you’ve been to your share of jungle gyms you have probably seen
many various styles of playground floor surfaces. At most playgrounds you’ll
find sand, gravel, rubber mulch, wood fiber or wood chips covering the floor
surfaces. At some of the less equipped jungle gyms, concrete, asphalt, grass or
soil may be found. It’s a no-brainier that one ought to avoid the latter
cluster of floor choices in any respect prices. Yet, among the former group of
loose fill flooring surfaces, it is tough to seek out the most effective choice
for a playground; all of them provide their own distinctive advantages. But,
what if I told you there’s a solution that trumps all of those flooring
options? Let ME introduce you to rubber outside playground matting.
Opting to use rubber tiles for a commercial or
residential playground surface is becoming quite common today, and for good
reason. First of all, it must be mentioned that rubber flooring is an ideal
surface for any application, primarily because of its shock-absorbency
qualities and grip surfaces. When stacked against other playground surface
options rubber tiles outshine the competition and then some.
To understand the versatility of outdoor
playground Mats, let’s compare rubber tiles to some commonly used playgroundTiles
Rubber Tiles vs. Sand
Elastic Tiles versus Wood Chips: Wood chips show a comfortable tasteful, give worthy pad, and are much less demanding to keep up than sand. Notwithstanding, wood chips are natural materials that form or buildup could develop upon. They are inclined to breaking down and can draw in creatures and creepy crawlies to this play area territory that resembles their home. Interlocking tiles neither foster the development of mold or buildup nor harbor rodents or creepy crawlies.
Rubber Tiles vs. Wood Chips:
Now, this match up may appear like a hurl up, yet elastic tiles really have a slight edge. Elastic mulch won't encourage the development of mold, offers fantastic pad, and reacts well to dampness or mugginess. The Achilles' heel of mulch is the way that it—and in addition sand and wood chips—is a free fill play area surfacing. Free fill surfacing can hide things like sharp protests, bothersome creepy crawlies or fecal matter. Play area tiles offer a pleasant level surface that uncovered any conceivably dangerous remote protests and rules as the best private play area surface.
Put elastic open air play area tangling in the ring with whatever other play area surface material and the flexible elastic tiles will outflank any of them effectively. The tiles are amazingly simple to introduce and keep up and will last the misuse of hurrying sugar-filled feet. Elastic tangling offers unmatched well being components, for example, a 6-foot appraised fall stature and superb footing. While considering play area surfaces, run with the champ: open air elastic ground surface tiles!
There are numerous surfaces that offer security in a youngsters' play zone or nursery play area, for example, delicate landing area, wet pour, bouncy landing area, bouncy floors, defensive elastic, defensive park floors, shaded flex top, counterfeit grass, elastic tangles and reinforced sap elastic mulch. These are additionally reasonable for open parks for children to make the most of their play time as securely as could be expected under the circumstances.
Artificial Grass
Delicate Lawn or counterfeit grass has turned out to be progressively utilized as a part of schools as a security surface for kids' relaxation in the play area. This surfacing can be utilized throughout the entire year furthermore empowers youngsters in more game and play in addition to additional utilization to the outside play region contrasted with common grass. Favorable position additionally is the minimal effort upkeep connected with simulated grass and the consequent advantages for the children to play throughout the entire year in the school play area.
Like elastic delicate play surface this additionally accommodates the youngsters' security in play areas and play territories. Can without much of a stretch be laid around play hardware to give the basic fall tallness ( CFH ) to give a well being surfacing so the children are protected in the play range. The elastic mulch accommodates a more common look and still gives a well being surface to the kids.
Another well being surface is the techno defensive grass mats, preformed security grass develop tangling or shaded grass mat defensive deck you can get from numerous play area supplier, play range surfacing organizations, play safe temporary workers, recreation surfaces contractual worker, play area installers, park creators or park development organizations.
However the fundamental wellspring of defensive surfacing utilized on play territories, play areas, parks and recreation regions for the children and youngsters is wet pour surfacing which is an elastic epdm surface in dark or in shading. The hued elastic bouncy landing area surface as a considerable measure appear to call it is exceptionally well known under play hardware since it is a wellbeing surface to ensure the youngsters, little children, children and youthful ones. The delicate pour bouncy surface is likewise utilized as a part of old people groups homes where elderly individuals may fall frequently. The delicate surface material assimilates the fall of the effect as it is a padded surface. The padding is the place individuals call the wellbeing surface to be light or bouncy surfacing. Numerous temporary workers can introduce the fluctuated playground mats regions however ensure they are all tried to BSEN models anyplace in the UK. A rundown beneath is towns where the play area surfaces have been introduced
Elastic security mats have turned into an installation of kids' play areas in New York City, buffering heads, hands and other body parts when youngsters slip and fall. Be that as it may, two news accounts today — in The Daily News and in Metro New York — question whether the mats themselves represent a peril: They can get so hot under the late spring sun that they can blaze exposed feet.
The Daily News found that a portion of the mats could get as hot as 160 degrees. Two of the city's blaze focuses clearly reported treating 10 instances of play area smolders a year ago, and no less than three claims have been documented by guardians over play area blazes.
"Play areas ought to be outlined with coverings," Geoffrey Croft, the organizer of the NYC Park Advocates, a parks guard dog bunch, said in a telephone meeting. "The city ought to weight the producers to think of an answer."
This evening, Betsy Gotham, the city's open backer and a previous city parks official, said in an announcement:
It's unsuitable that youngsters endure extreme and totally avoidable wounds because of gear introduced and kept up by the city. What number of blaze cases will it take before the city awakens and acts? Signs cautioning against exposed feet on the play area are not adequate to guarantee youngsters' well being. The city needs to accomplish more to secure kids, and meanwhile, guarantee the signs are really useful in notice and advising guardians of little youngsters about these threats.
In a telephone meeting, Adrian Beeped, the official of the city's Department of Parks and Recreation, said the feedback was justifiable yet unjustifiable.
He noticed that all parks have signs cautioning kids and different clients to wear shoes, and said that it was basic that guardians and overseers watch out for youths, who some of the time need to run unshod. "On the off chance that you wear shoes, even on the most sultry days, you won't blaze your feet," he said. "There aren't numerous instances of children with blazed feet that have been conveyed to our consideration."
The city's about 1,000 play areas all have hardware that adjusts to well being guidelines set by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and MAST International, some time ago the American Society for Testing and Materials, Mr. Beeped included.
The government security commission's Public Playground Mats Safety Handbook indicates a few sorts of materials affirmed for use as well being surfaces in play areas, including elastic tangles and tiles, designed wood fiber, pea rock, sand, destroyed or reused elastic mulch and wood mulch or chips, yet Mr. Beeped said that elastic mats were the best answer for New York City. A free fill surface, similar to one made of wood mulch or rock, would be hard to clean and keep safe in a vigorously utilized urban space and could rapidly turn into a dumping ground for pooch waste and different dangers like broken glass or needles.
"Those of us who are more established grew up with no elastic security surfaces," Mr. Beeped said. "Before that, in the exemplary New York City play area, the ground surface was black-top or cement, and individuals endured awful wounds, especially head wounds, from tumbles off play gear, playground equipment, swings. In any event, you cleaned your knee or elbow severely."
Supplanting the greater part of the elastic well being mats utilized as a part of the city's play areas could cost as much as $100 million, he assessed, and utilizing mats with lighter hues would lessen surface temperatures just somewhat.
"We will inspect all new innovations to lessen the temperature, if conceivable," he said. "We are continually refining play area outline and attempting make them safe. Indeed, we do it so much that we get protestations that our play areas are dull."
(For sure, with all the plastic secluded gear and shields, some guardians do whine that play areas have turned out to be less testing and a good time for youngsters, as The Times noted in a 2005 article.)
Dr. Kate Cronin, a pediatric crisis doctor at the Alfred I. DuPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., and a senior proofreader at Healthiness, said in a telephone meeting that she had not experienced numerous case of foot blazes from well being surfaces, and she concurred that shoes are crucial for youngsters.
"It's not only the mats," said Dr. Cronin, who has no association with New York City play area plan. "I prescribe to guardians that their children need to keep those shoes on. They'll be moving up rungs, playground equipment, wilderness rec centers. To take shoes off makes a dangerous circumstance. Furthermore, I generally prompt that kids must wear shoes, not flip-failures: they're adorable and fun, but rather can slip off your feet effortlessly. That is a formula for a fall."
Dr. Cronin said she had seen instances of youngsters with red or bothered feet from strolling crosswise over hot black-top on roads, in parking areas and in carports, yet included: "You need to have more contact than recently like snatching a handle to see a blaze harm from a bit of gear. On the most smoking days of the year, when those bits of hardware are excessively hot, the children tend, making it impossible to not have any desire to be on the play area for a long stretch. Flitting snatching of something that is hot shouldn't be sufficient time for introduction. Dislike touching a fire, or something that would blaze all the more rapidly."
Some examination has demonstrated that lighter-hued mats get hot less rapidly than dark mats, so a pilot task to try out the lighter hues would be a smart thought, Dr. Cronin said, including that New York City ought to likewise attempt to give however much shade as could be expected over the playground mats.
Most facility
managers — whether they work in schools, offices, or industrial locations — are
well aware of the benefits of entry mats. Entryway matting systems promote
safety and significantly reduce slip-and-fall accidents. They also keep
facilities clean, well maintained, and healthy by keeping soils, contaminants
and moisture outside. This makes the indoor environment both cleaner and
healthier.
However,
not all entryway mats are the same. Some mats are more effective than others
when it comes to capturing and trapping soils and moisture. There are also a
variety of matting types, including bi-level mats, wiper mats and wiper/scraper
mats. Further, entry mats must be installed correctly, typically by using a system
known as the “Rule of 15.”*
The
Rule of 15* refers to the effective placement of matting both in and outside of
a facility. First, five feet of scraper mats are placed outside the facility to
scrape off large debris. Five feet of wiper/scraper mats are installed directly
inside the facility as the next line of defense. Finally, five feet of a third
type of mat, known as a wiper mat, is placed in the lobby area itself. Working
together, these three kinds of matting form a system that can keep more than 70
percent of moisture and contaminants from being walked into a facility.
Just
as not all entry mats work the same way, not all anti-fatigue mats produce the
same results. In fact, while most plant managers are aware of these products
and their purpose, anti-fatigue mats can prove to be more confusing and harder
to understand than any other type of matting.
Anti-fatigue
mats, as the name implies, are designed to cut down on fatigue for those
working in a standing position for prolonged periods of time. These products
allow the user to make “micro-movements” while standing, which can reduce back
and foot pain, fatigue, and physical stress. Additionally, they help enhance
blood and oxygen flow through the lower limbs, which also reduces fatigue.
Studies have indicated that people are more likely to have or cause an accident
when they are tired, in pain, or fatigued — meaning these mats can also
potentially reduce injuries to both standing workers and others in a facility.
Anti-fatigue
mats can be made with vinyl, wood, PVC and PVC tubing, rubber, foam,
polypropylene, nitrile rubber, or other materials. While they are frequently
found in manufacturing and industrial locations where staff must stand for the
majority of their working day, food service facilities, cashiers, and beauty
shops frequently make use of these products as well. After all, these workers
are typically on their feet eight to ten hours per day, and often suffer the
same fatigue and pain caused by long standing with which industrial workers are
all too familiar.
A bit of history
It
is believed the first anti-fatigue mats were introduced more than 30 years ago.
Since then, other manufacturers have introduced their own lines of anti-fatigue
mats. For many manufacturers and distributors, anti-fatigue mats are the most
commonly selected products after entry mats.
According
to experts, the main reason managers select anti-fatigue mats is they help
improve worker productivity. Employers can eliminate the stress on employees
and increase worker productivity with anti-fatigue mats. These products also
protect people from the hazards of standing in place for long periods of time,
which helps to avoid back, knee, ankle, and foot pain.
Studies
reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and other
medical journals going back more than a decade support this assertion. These
studies indicate that lost worker productivity as a result of the “common aches
and pains” often associated with standing for long periods of time costs
American employers more than $60 billion annually.**
We
should note that this worker productivity is not necessarily lost due to
absenteeism. In fact, in most cases, workers do not believe they are in enough
pain to justify taking time off. Instead, these costs are the result of reduced
worker performance. The JAMA study estimates that more than 3.5 hours per week
are lost due to reduced worker performance, or about 23 days per year due to
pain.
Workers
who stand for more than four hours per day with minimal movement can become
fatigued, say matting experts. A worker who is not comfortable is not as
productive as someone who is feeling healthy.
Plant
managers and others should purchase anti-fatigue mats rather than renting them,
according to experts. Rental mats may initially reduce worker fatigue, aches,
and pains, but the selection offered may be limited, of relatively poor
quality, and some types of mats may be better suited for different
environments.
Managers
should avoid making their selection based solely on price. Lower-cost matting
tends to be made of poor-quality materials, and often lasts only a few months.
Additionally, these products may prove to offer only minimal benefits to
standing workers.
Some
anti-fatigue mats are designed for dry environments in which moisture is rarely
an issue, according to experts. But where water, grease, oils, or fluids are an
issue — which is not uncommon in an industrial setting — managers should select
a rubber anti-fatigue mat or an anti-fatigue mat specifically designed to allow
moisture to drain below the mat, providing a dry, safe, and steady surface to
walk on.
Follow
these three recommendations for managers, all of which are supported by almost
all matting manufacturers and distributors:
Work with an astute sales representative/distributor who
knows matting systems and the types of anti-fatigue mats that are
available. These individuals can be a manager’s best friend when it comes to
selecting anti-fatigue matting products.
In some cases, it may be best to try different
anti-fatigue mats and then poll workers about which products they find to
be most effective.
Finally, check the warranty. Mats with a longer warranty
— no matter what they are — invariably have these warranties because they
are made of higher-quality materials, have been tested and evaluated, and
the manufacturer knows the mat should last and perform well for the life
of the warranty.
Aplayground Matsis the material that lies under and
around swings, slides, monkey bars and other playground equipment. The surfaces
are usually made of wood or rubber and designed specifically for aesthetics,
child safety, and/or ADA wheelchair accessibility. Playground safety surfacing
often involves the use of recycled rubber tire products such as poured rubber,
rubber tiles or loose rubber mulch.
1.Applies only if a drainage system is
installed.
2Ability to meet standards varies with
installation materials and methods.
3.EPDM refers to Ethylene Propylene Monomer,
a firm, yet flexible, rubber material.
4.ATP refers to Aliphatic Thermoplastic
Polyurethane, a firm, yet flexible, plastic in which sphere-like particles are
chemically bonded to a color-fast binding material.
5.When properly installed with a 6"
depth.
6.OPTIMISATION OF THE SHOCK ATTENUATION
PROPERTIES OF PLAYGROUND SURFACES.[2]
Safety
In the United States, playground Tiles-related injuries send 200,000 children to anemergency roomevery
year. If visits to doctors are included, the figure rises to 500,000 injuries,
according to theAmerican Academy of
Orthopedic Surgeons]More
than half of these injuries result from falls to a playground surface that can
cause fractures, concussions, dislocations, and internal injuries. Recognizing
these facts, many organizations, including theConsumer
Product Safety Commission, have issued guidelines and standards for playground
surfaces. Accessibility In the United States, as well as being safe, a playground surface should be
firm enough to meet the requirements of theAmericans
with Disabilities Act, which means it must offer easy mobility for children in
wheelchairs. Meeting these dual objectives limits the number of types of
surfaces that can be considered by responsible playground owner/operators. ASTM
International has developed test method F1951 to evaluate compliance with the
Americans With Disability Act (ADA).
However, meeting the ADA's requirements
does not guarantee that all children with disabilities can use the playground
equipment.
Engineered wood fiber (EWF): This material consists of shredded wood into sizes
and aspect ratios determined by a series of specified sieves. The wood chips
are springy enough to meet ASTM F1292 for impact attenuation and firm enough to
meet ASTM F1951 for wheelchair access. Engineered wood fiber is made from
biodegradable virgin wood. A wood fiber surface tends to compact over time and
needs to be topped off every two to three years.
·Poured rubber surfacing: This is a seamless rubber surface
composed of two layers that is poured in place (PIP). The first layer, or
"wear layer", is typically 3/8" thick and made of EPDM or TPV
granules. The second layer, or "cushion layer", is 1" to 5"
inches thick and made of crumb rubber or recycled rubber tires. The surface's
thickness depends upon usage and play equipment with 15-20mm for hard surfaces
and 40mm for compressed stone. The raw rubber particles are bound together with
a polyurethane binder and mixed or made on-site. The surface comes in a wide
range of colors and even mixtures of colors. A typical poured rubber surface
meets national standards for safety and ADA wheelchair accessibility.
·ATP rubberized unitary surface: ATP stands for aliphatic
thermoplastic monomer. This surface also meets safety and accessibility
standards. It consists of a layer of almost-spherical rubber particles, about
one-sixteenth of an inch in diameter, which are chemically bound by a
color-fast binder. This surface, in turn, is bonded to a layer of engineered
recycled foam (ERF) to absorb shock. The colors are vibrant, and they will not
fade from the sun or power washing. As with PIP, its main disadvantage is high
cost. But this limitation is somewhat offset by long life: data from Europe and
the U.S. indicate these surfaces have a useful life of at least 10 years.
·Shredded rubber: This material consists of shredded tires about
1” by 1/8” in size. The loose particles are spread on the playground surface
where they absorb shock effectively and meets the ASTM F1292 standard. But
there are certain drawbacks. The material moves around in a playground as
children play, creating an uneven surface that is not wheelchair accessible.
Wear areas under swings and at the base of slides are particularly prone to
scuffing out. When this occurs, the thickness of the shredded rubber surface
may not be enough to cushion falls from originally specified heights. There is
also a risk of fire. Only a small number of such fires are reported each year,
but they are apt to be extremely hot and may not respond to conventional fire-fighting
equipment. When this occurs, the playground equipment above the surface may be
totally destroyed.
·Sand and gravel: The extent to which these surfaces meet safety
standards depends on the exact type and depth of the material used. When sand
is wet, the surface becomes hard and unyielding. In such a condition, the
ability of a sand surface to absorb impact is seriously compromised. Neither
sand nor pea gravel meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities
Act for wheelchair accessibility.
