Playground Safety – August 2010
In the early 1970s, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) was petitioned by citizens groups to advise and publish safety standards for public playground equipment. Until that time, no universal data were readily available to assist playground operators in assessing the suitability of playground products. The general lack of safety data up to that point perpetuated a myriad of serious playground hazards such as inadequate safety surfacing underneath play equipment, dangerous spacing of rungs, barriers that led to head entrapments and strangulation, and a variety of layout and spacing problems that caused serious injuries.
The CPSC published its Handbook of Public Playground Safety in 1981. It quickly became the “standard” by which manufacturers, public interest groups, and government agencies designed and/or evaluated the safety of public playground equipment. The CPSC’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety was written primarily as a tool for operators of public playgrounds, not as a set of technical specifications for manufacturers. The document provides fundamental safety information in an effort to categorize the most dangerous playground safety issues. It is an essential tool in evaluating the safety of one’s playground environment. The CPSC’s Handbook for Public Playground Safety is available online in .PDF format.
Since the appearance of the CPSC’s Handbook, the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) has issued its “Standard Consumer Safety Performance Specification for Playground Equipment for Public Use” (ASTM F1487). This active standard provides technical specifications for playground manufacturers to use in designing play equipment for the public sector.
According to Perry Perrett, a Certified Playground Safety Inspector recognized by the National Parks and Recreation’s Playground Safety Institute, “Most playgrounds in existence simply do no meet all the guidelines set forth by CPSC and ASTM. If a playground cannot be totally replaced with new equipment and built to the latest guidelines, an owner has a duty to identify and eliminate the most serious hazards.” There are a variety of conditions on playgrounds that can cause injuries. Some are obvious and others are more subtle. “Serious hazards” are classified as those causing permanent disability or death, like those described in the sections below.
Inadequate Safety Surfacing
According to the CPSC, more than 70% of injuries reported on playgrounds are from falls from equipment. It is essential to have suitable, resilient material underneath and around all playground equipment. The largest playground-related jury damage award in the U.S. went to a child and his family in Washington, D.C., who were awarded $14.4 million in compensation for injuries the child sustained falling from equipment placed over blacktop. Many resilient surfacing materials are available, ranging from simple wood chips to cast-in-place-urethane matting and interlocking rubber tiles.
Examples of Inadequate Safety Surfacing:
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Examples of Adequate Safety Surfacing:
 Poured-in-place urethane surfacing |
 Wood Carpet |
Head Entrapments
Head entrapments are very common on older equipment. A preschool-aged child’s head is usually wider than his shoulders. When a child accidentally slips through a small opening, he/she often does so feet-first in what is essentially a free fall. If the child’s head cannot fit through an opening, the child’s entire body weight is placed on his neck, potentially resulting in strangulation or serious, permanent spinal injuries or brain damage. Both the CPSC and ASTM recommend that no openings on playground equipment, except those in contact with the ground, be between 3.5 and 9 inches wide (diameter).
Examples of Head Entrapment Hazards:
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Pinch and Crush Points
Pinch and crush points occur when two opposing moving parts, such as swinging bridge planks or bridge-to-deck connections, have gaps where fingers, hands, and feet can fit into openings. When other equipment users walk across the bridge, such gaps can close with terrific force, causing severe injuries.
Examples of Pinch and Crush Points:
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Protrusions
Protrusions include bolt ends, pipe ends, handgrips, etc., that protrude from equipment. When attached to a moving part, such as a spring animal, these protrusions can impale a child’s skull or eye socket and cause serious abrasions and lacerations.
Examples of Protrusions:
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 Handles on spring animals |
Moving-Object Impact Injuries
Virtually every playground manufacturer has recalled board-type swings (swings that make use of heavy, animal forms used as swinging devices; trapeze bars; swinging metal rings; conventional seesaws; and the like), due to the danger of permanent bodily injury from their impact with equipment users and/or bystanders.
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Improperly Spaced Equipment
A well-designed playground is laid out to permit a safe flow of activity from one feature to another. The CPSC and ASTM publish a variety of spacing guidelines for all types of play equipment. Such spacing recommendations address how close various pieces of play equipment can be to one another, as well as the width and depth of the safety surface required for various components.
Examples of Improperly Spaced Equipment:
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“Common sense goes a long way in helping most people identify the most serious playground hazards,” says Perrett. Written in laymen’s terms, the CPSC Handbook for Public Playground Safety is full of easy-to-read data and numerous illustrations that walk readers through a playground safety evaluation. Many companies, including Mid-Atlantic Sports, LLC, offer Certified Playground Safety Inspections to help playground owners assess the safety of their playgrounds.
One of the most common mistakes property owners and managers make is purchasing single-family, residential play equipment for use in a public playground. Residential play equipment is not designed with the requisite spacing, swing configurations, or multitude of other clearances and limitations proven safest for public play settings.
Most commercial play equipment is now modular. It can be designed to meet a facility’s immediate budget and be expanded at a later date. Unfortunately, not all commercial play structures on the market are designed in compliance with CPSC and ASTM guidelines. It is essential to seek a reputable manufacturer and contractor for your job. And be sure the contract states that the installation must comply with CPSC and ASTM guidelines.
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Whether or not a new play structure is in your plans, it is imperative to inspect your current playground to immediately identify and address serious safety hazards.
Mid-Atlantic Sports, LLC, is a playground manufacturer and contractor based in Ijamsville, Maryland. It manufacturers Eagle Play Structures commercial playground equipment using metal, Poly Sleeve, and recycled plastic models. Mid-Atlantic Sports also installs pavilions; site amenities; and tennis, basketball, and game courts. For additional information, call 1-800-609-9966.
