Playground lead levels in rubber, soil, sand, and mulch surfaces in Boston

Abstract

Rubber surfacing is often used in playgrounds due to its potential injury prevention benefits and as a way to recycle waste tires. Available research on chemicals in recycled rubber has focused on synthetic turf applications, but is limited for playground rubber surfacing. Potential lead contamination from vulcanizing agents used in rubber surfacing are a possible concern; however this has not been researched. We examined levels of lead in poured-in-place rubber and compared them to levels in soil, sand, and wood mulch materials from 28 randomly selected playgrounds in Boston, MA, USA using X-ray fluorescence. To evaluate the association between material type and lead concentrations, we conducted a two-way ANOVA with repeated measures and built a linear regression model controlling for distance to major roadway, neighborhood-level status as an environmental justice area, peeling paint on the playground, and rubber condition. Average lead levels were 65.7 μg/g for soil, 22.0 μg/g for rubber, 8.5 μg/g for sand, and 9.0 μg/g for mulch. Our finding of lower concentrations of lead in sand and mulch compared to rubber and soil should be used to inform playground design to optimize children’s health, alongside other chemical and safety considerations.

Assessing children’s potential exposures to harmful metals in tire crumb rubber by accelerated photodegradation weathering

“…A more useful approach for evaluating potential human exposures is to assess the weathering-dependent metal surface release (MSR) from TCR materials, particularly those having long environmental durability, such as children’s playground tiles. Such studies have been rarely found in the literature thus far, and relevant data are therefore very limited if ever existed 29 .…”

Particles formation due to the wear of tires and measures for the wear reduction: A review

“…First, particles formed due to the wear of tires, and their amount can vary between 5% and 30%. 36 The second way is from the recycled rubber which is used as the construction material for the artificial reef, [37][38][39] as fill material for playgrounds, 40,41 as highway embankments, 42 and as embankment fill material. 43,44 Nowadays rubber is more and more used as the construction material, for artificial lawns and similar, and since it consist of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals, it is harmful Figure 1.…”