Rubber Mulch: The Perfect Rubber Mulch For Playgrounds, Landscapes And Equestrian
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In properly maintained playground applications, rubber mulch will reduce the occurrence of fall injuries. Please note that rubber mulch can only HELP REDUCE injuries from falls not prevent them. |
Two types of rubber playground surfacing material are on the market today: loose fill and solid mats. Loose fill generally consists of chips of rubber ranging from one half inch to three quarters inch in size. All non-rubber materials are removed, and the chips are washed before being placed on the play ground. Rubber, does not contain asbestos nor fiberglass as reinforcement fibers.
Safety Value of Scrap Rubber Material as a Playground Cover:
According
to the Mayo Clinic (Mayo Health O@sis, May, 1998), about 70 percent of
playground injuries are a
result of falls. The Consumers Product Safety Commission recommends that
"hard surfacing materials, such
as asphalt or concrete, are unsuitable for use under and around playground
equipment of any height unless
they are required as a base of for a shock absorbing unitary material such as a
rubber mat." (CPSC document
1005). The CPSC defines unitary materials as "...generally rubber mats or a
combination of rubber-like
materials held in place by a binder that may be pour in place at the playground
site and cures to form a
unitary shock absorbing surface." (CPSC document 1005).
Shock Attenuation:
The
Mayo Clinic recommendation is to use playground mating/flooring that
"gives", such as rubber. The
State of Illinois conducted a direct comparison between scrap tire rubber and
other loose fill playground
surfacing materials at a depth of six inches. It is reported that wire-free
scrap tire chips have roughly twice
the cushioning effect of other material. (Report to the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Community
Affairs, January 1994).
Critical Heights for a 6 Inch Uncompressed Layer*
Wood Mulch 5 feet
Fine Sand 5 feet
Medium Gravel 7 feet
Rubber Chips 12 feet
Rubber shreds/chip data from the Illinois Department of Energy & Natural Resources. Measured in accordance with ASTM F12-93 and ASTM F355-86. Data on other materials from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, CPSC Document 1005.
*According to the testing criteria, the higher the height, the safer the material. Flammability:
Rubber chips were tested in 1995 in accordance with the Federal Hazardous Substance Act (16 CFR 1500.44) to determine whether this material would be considered "flammable" (a material is considered flammable if it ignites and burns with a self-sustained flame at a rate greater than 0.1 inches per second along its major axis). From the test results it was concluded that scrap rubber material is considered non-flammable.
Other Advantages of Wire-Free Scrap Rubber Chips:
Clean and non-toxic
Does not produce toxic leachate
Resilient
Does not attract or maintain moisture
Economical, lasts for years
Reduces dust and mud around playing area
Does not attract cats, dogs, rodents or insects
Will not rot or decay
Not susceptible to reduced performance due to rainy weather or freezing temperatures
What if a Child Swallows a Rubber Chip?
In 1994 the Maryland Environmental Services (MES) put this question to a series of tests. At the MES request, a testing laboratory subjected 3/4 inch pieces of rubber chips to hydrochloric acid (stomach acid). "Visual examination of insoluble residue appeared to indicate only fibrous reinforcing strands were dissolved by the hydrochloric acid. The tire rubber did not appear to be affected in any way; i.e. chalking, cracking, spauling, fracturing, etc." (PSI report No. 486-40013-001). What does this mean? If a piece of rubber is swallowed, it should not cause any acute or chronic problems. Short-term issues, such as an upset stomach will be a function of the amount of rubber swallowed. As to the fate of the rubber chips swallowed, they are eventually evacuated from the body, just like any other non-digestible material.
Additional Information:
For further information on playground safety, contact the Consumers Product Safety Commission, Washington. DC 20207; http://www.cpsc.gov. We suggest obtaining their publication on Playground Surfacing Materials, CPSC Document #1005. The STMC is not-for-profit, advocacy organization, founded and supported by the United States based rubber manufacturers. The Council is part of the Rubber Manufacturers Association, the trade association representing the United States rubber industry. The Council’s primary function is to assist in the promotion and development of environmental sound and cost efficient markets for the scrap rubber generated in the United States.
Playground Installation Specifications
Proper Playground Equipment Placement
The use zone for each piece of equipment is made up of two parts:
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The Fall Zone: an area under and around the equipment where protective surfacing is required, and,
| The No-Encroachment Zone: an additional area beyond the fall zone where children using the equipment can be expected to move about and should have no encroaching obstacles. |
With the exception of spring rocking equipment, equipment under 24 inches in
height, and the zone between adjacent swings (see below), the fall zones of
adjacent pieces of equipment should not overlap. However, adjacent pieces of
equipment may share a single no-encroachment zone.
Regardless of the type of equipment, the use zone should be free of obstacles
that children could run into or fall on top of and thus be injured. For example,
there should not be any vertical posts or other objects protruding from the
ground onto which a child may fall.
Recommendations for Fall Zone
Stationary Equipment
The fall zone should extend a minimum of 6 feet in all directions from the
perimeter of the equipment.
Slides
The fall zone in front of the access and to the sides of a slide shall extend a
minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the equipment. Note: This does not apply
to embankment slides.
The fall zone in front of the exit of a slide shall extend a minimum distance of
6 feet from the end of the slide chute or for a distance of H + 4 feet whichever
is the greater. H is the height of the slide platform and the H + 4 foot
measurement is made from a point on the slide chute where the gradient has been
reduced to 5o from the horizontal (see Figure 16).
Shaded Area Denotes Fall Zone with Protective Surfacing
Figure 16 Fall Zone for Slides
Single Axis Swings
Because children may deliberately attempt to exit from a single axis swing while
it is in motion, the fall zone in front of and behind the swing should be
greater than to the sides of such a swing. It is recommended that the fall zone
extend to the front and rear of a single axis swing a minimum distance of 2
times the height of the pivot point above the surfacing material measured from a
point directly beneath the pivot on the supporting structure (see Figure 17).
The fall zone to the sides of a single axis swing should follow the general
recommendation and extend a minimum of 6 feet from the perimeter of the swing
structure in accordance with the general recommendation for fall zones. This 6
foot zone may overlap that of an adjacent swing structure.
Shaded Area Denotes Fall Zone with Protective Surfacing
Figure 17 Fall Zone for Single Axis Swings
Multi Axis Swings
The fall zone should extend in any direction from a point directly beneath the
pivot point for a minimum distance of 6 feet + the length of the suspending
members (see Figure 18). In addition, the fall zone shall extend a minimum of 6
feet from the perimeter of the supporting structure. This 6 foot zone may
overlap that of an adjacent swing structure.
Merry-Go-Rounds
The fall zone should extend 6 feet beyond the perimeter of the platform.
Spring Rocking Equipment
The fall zone should extend a minimum of 6 feet from the "at rest"
perimeter of the equipment but adjacent spring rockers with a maximum seat
height of 24 inches may share the same fall zone.
Composite Equipment
The above recommendations for individual pieces of equipment should be used as a
guide in establishing the fall zones around pieces of composite playground
equipment. Note that in Section 9.2.2 it was recommended that single axis swings
not be a part of a composite structure.
Shaded Area Denotes Fall Zone with Protective
Figure 18 Fall Zone for Multi Axis Tire Swings
Recommendations for No-Encroachment Zone
No specific dimensions can be recommended for the noencroachment zone around
individual pieces of playground equipment. These dimensions will vary according
to the types of adjacent pieces of equipment and their orientation with respect
to one another.
For example, the recommended fall zone at the side of both a slide and a swing
is 6 feet. Since fall zones should not overlap (with the exception of certain
adjacent spring rockers), a slide could be placed with its side no closer than
12 feet to the side of a swing. Therefore, there may be no need to add an
additional no-encroachment zone. Conversely, it would not be desirable to have a
slide exit facing the front or rear of single axis swing.
No-encroachment zones extending beyond the fall zones are recommended for moving
equipment or equipment from which the child is in motion as he or she exits.
This allows more space for children to regain their balance upon exiting the
equipment and also provides added protection against other children running into
a moving part.
For a single axis swing, it is recommended that there be a barrier beyond the
fall zone in front of the swing if it is located in a playground facing other
pieces of equipment.
Information Source:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/327.html visit the CPSC site at this link for more information.
This article is a excerpt from the "Handbook for Public Playground
Safety", Pub. No. 325
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, Washington, DC 20207.
Toxicity
Rubber mulch is
considered non-toxic. MSDS Sheets
for key components available upon request.
Reported Value ug/L
Regulatory Limit ug/L
Carbon disulfide
67
14,400
Methyl ethyl ketone
21
7,200
Toluene
190
14,000
Phenol
46
14,400
Source:
A Report on the Use of Shredded Scrap Tires in On-Site Sewage Disposal
Systems, Department of Environmental Conservation, State of Vermont,
Brattleboro, VT, Envirologic, Inc. 1990.Chemicals leaching from relative fresh
tire crumb may present a moderate toxic threat to aquatic species if the runoff
is not diluted. However, this toxic
activity is quickly degraded by natural processes, presumably by conversion of
the chemicals responsible to nontoxic products.
Conditions likely to produce runoff, such as rain and snowmelt, are also
likely to dilute the runoff in receiving sewers, bodies of water, and
groundwater by considerable volumes. Given
that undiluted runoff is not likely and that 3 months is an outside estimate of
the duration of toxicity, it is doubtful that tire crumb would present a
significant risk of contamination in receiving surface waters or groundwater.
Source: Toxicological
Evaluation for the Hazard Assessment of Tire Crumb for Use in Public
Playgrounds, Journal of the Air & Waste ManagementAssociation, 2003.
E. Flammability:
Scrap tire material is
considered non-flammable based on test results from 1995 in accordance with the
Federal Hazardous Substance Act (16 CFR 1500.44). A
material is considered flammable if it ignites and burns with a self sustaining
flame greater than 0.1 inches per second along its major axis.
F.
Colorfastness:
Colorfastness of product has
been tested under extreme circumstances and is considered by manufacturer to be
fade resistant.
Rubber Bark complies with
ASTM F1292-99 as was tested by Northwest Laboratories of Seattle, Incorporated
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Product
Install Depth
Critical Fall Height
Rubber
Mulch
4” (Four inches)
9’ (Nine feet)
With proper installation and
maintenance, Rubber mulch will reduce fall injuries in playgrounds.
However, PRM Enterprises, LLC and any of its affiliates or subsidiaries
make no warranty of the safety and colorfastness of this product.
