Artificial Surfaces in the Playground
In the news, especially in the US recently, there has been a lot of worry about artificial surfaces and the problems they can cause, with dust particles being inhaled by people and children who are playing on them. Some parents will not even let their children go anywhere near these synthetic areas.
The thing is that when you look at a surface which has fake grass, then that is the problem more than anything else, also what feels like normal dirt, is actually very fine pieces of rubber, that have also been treated with something, to probably make it last longer.
The difference between the rubber mulch that is used for playgrounds and even your garden is that the manufacturers have not added anything to make it something else. The size of the granules is also a factor.
Larger pieces of recycled rubber are used to create, good strong compounds for playgrounds, that will not break-up, or come apart after being trampled on by a few thousand children. The same can be said for the rubber mulch in your garden, although you don’t really want any kids trampling through that, as the plants probably would not survive as easily as the rubber mulch.
Schools use rubber mulch compounds in their playgrounds, but don’t go pulling your kids away from a good school because of the playground. The main concern is with artificial plating surfaces, such as football fields. This is still not proven that the synthetic grasses laid, will damage the health of anyone using them, but the worry is that the dust from the synthetic material used, gets into the airway and the body.
As I have said previously, this is unfounded and is an on going investigation and there should be no cause for alarm, when using rubber mulch as bedding for the garden or for safety, when it comes to your children playing in a playground. If there was such a worry then almost every playground around the world would be closed or being ripped up by now.
