Playground Mats

Playground surfacing

A playground Mats is 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.

2 Ability 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 an emergency room every year. If visits to doctors are included, the figure rises to 500,000 injuries, according to the American 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 the Consumer 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 the Americans 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.