Safety of Shredded Tires in Playgrounds Under Question
Source: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is having second thoughts about the safety of shredded tires as fill in playgrounds, according to agency documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). EPA admits that it does not know the extent of childhood exposure from ingestion or inhalation of an array of toxic chemicals found within tires.

Every year millions of pounds of tires are recycled into ground rubber, (called “tire crumb”) and placed on playgrounds to reduce injuries from falls. Both EPA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) have endorsed the use of tire crumb for years but neither agency ever investigated the potential toxicity to children from direct contact with tire ingredients, such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury and a number of dangerous hydrocarbons. Despite these huge knowledge gaps, both agencies still endorse use of tire crumb, which is increasingly being marketed for backyard use.

Documents obtained by PEER under the Freedom of Information Act indicate that –

• EPA lacks the information to “assess toxicological risks of tire crumb in situations where children are exposed” but has recommended tire crumbs for public recreational use since 1991;
• Agencies are issuing contradictory advice to consumers. In June 2008, for example, the Centers for Disease Control issued an advisory for potential lead exposure from artificial turf, while weeks later, CPSC issued a press release downplaying the lead risk based on very limited testing; and
• EPA plans to conduct its first field monitoring studies but admits that these limited tests will leave many questions unanswered.

+ Read the 2008 warning memo on “Potential Risks of Tire Crumbs” from EPA Region 8 (PDF; 226 KB)
+ View the June 2008 EPA PowerPoint presentation summarizing issues (PDF; 2.1 MB)
+ See the July 2008 EPA draft talking points to answer public and press inquiries (PDF; 157 KB)
+ Look at the weaknesses and limitations in EPA’s planned testing (PDF; 43 KB)
+ Peruse PEER letter to Lisa Jackson (PDF: 10 KB)

This entry was posted on Monday, June 8th, 2009 at 12:09 am and is filed under Environment, Government and politics, Safety, Sports, recreation and leisure. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.