Not fun in the sun: playground safety in a heatwave

Strong, Dan; Tahir, Adnan; Verma, Sapna

doi:10.1136/emj.2006.041657

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 3 publications

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“…This lack of experience results in differences in the perception of heat between children and adults, where expectations and experience, perception, personal preference, and feedback mechanisms related to the thermal environment (e.g., Knez, Thorsson, Eliasson, & Lindberg, 2009;Metje, Sterling, & Baker, 2008;Parsons, 2003) are more limited in children, affecting the interpretation of their physical state and subsequent adaptive behavior to avoid heat stress (Vanos, 2015). Due to many of the above-mentioned cumulative factors, children experience burns on playgrounds even in moderate midlatitude climates (Ford et al, 2011;Strong, Tahir, & Verma, 2007). Burns can occur in 3 s on solid metal surfaces with temperatures ≥60 • C (ASTM 1055(ASTM , 2014CPSC, 2010;ISO 13732, 2010;Ungar & Stroud, 2010); for plastics or nonmetallic coatings that are more insulating, higher threshold temperatures are set (e.g., ≥77 • C for plastic ISO 13732 (2010), see Table 1).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hot playgrounds and children's health: A multiscale analysis of surface temperatures in Arizona, USA

Vanos

Middel

McKercher

et al. 2016

Landscape and Urban Planning

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h i g h l i g h t s• A mismatch exists between remotely sensed and in situ urban surface temperatures (T s ).• The hottest T s in a Phoenix area neighborhood were found on playground surfaces.• Children are more vulnerable to the effects of heat stress and high T s than adults.• Shade of any type is found effective in reducing T s and improving thermal safety.• Data must be collected at the touch-scale for spatially accurate high T s mitigation. a r t i c l e i n f o b s t r a c tObjectives: To provide novel quantification and advanced measurements of surface temperatures (T s ) in playgrounds, employing multiple scales of data, and provide insight into hot-hazard mitigation techniques and designs for improved environmental and public health. Methods: We conduct an analysis of T s in two Metro-Phoenix playgrounds at three scales: neighborhood (1 km resolution), microscale (6.8 m resolution), and touch-scale (1 cm resolution). Data were derived from two sources: airborne remote sensing (neighborhood and microscale) and in situ (playground site) infrared T s (touch-scale). Metrics of surface-to-air temperature deltas ( T s-a ) and scale offsets (errors) are introduced. Results: Select in situ T s in direct sunlight are shown to approach or surpass values likely to result in burns to children at touch-scales much finer than T s resolved by airborne remote sensing. Scale offsets based on neighbourhood and microscale ground observations are 3.8 • C and 7.3 • C less than the T s-a at the 1 cm touch-scale, respectively, and 6.6 • C and 10.1 • C lower than touch-scale playground equipment T s , respectively. Hence, the coarser scales underestimate high T s within playgrounds. Both natural (tree) and artificial (shade sail) shade types are associated with significant reductions in T s . Conclusions: A scale mismatch exists based on differing methods of urban T s measurement. The sub-meter touch-scale is the spatial scale at which data must be collected and policies of urban landscape design and health must be executed in order to mitigate high T s in high-contact environments such as playgrounds. Shade implementation is the most promising mitigation technique to reduce child burns, increase park usability, and mitigate urban heating.

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