For Immediate Release: June 27, 2002
CONTACT:    Joshua Davis, MontPIRG Consumer Advocate
(406) 243-2929


Missoula, MT -- Hard surfacing, equipment that is too high, and swings that are too close together pose preventable hazards to children at a majority of public playgrounds across the country, according to a survey released today
by the Montana Public Interest Research Group (MontPIRG) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, almost 190,000 children were treated in hospital emergency rooms in 2001 as a result of injuries sustained on public playground equipment. Each year between 15 and 20 children die as a result of playground injuries. “Playgrounds can be wonderful places for children to have fun and face new challenges, but far too many playgrounds contain hazards that can injure and even kill,” said MontPIRG Consumer Advocate Joshua Davis.  Locally, 211 children have visited St. Patrick Hospital as a result of playground injuries from April of 1996 to May of 2002, according to Trauma Services Director John Bleicher.  Of these, 21 children were injured bad enough to need admittance to the hospital.  The average age of the injured children was 9.

"Parents should be advocates for safer local playgrounds," added Teresa Jacobs, Director of the Playground Enhancement Project, a group focused on improving children’s school playground experiences through cooperative games. "Unfortunately, we easily located many unsafe playground surfaces and equipment that can lead to injuries and deaths," added Davis.

In their sixth national survey of public playgrounds, the PIRGs and CFA surveyed 1,037 playgrounds in 36 states and Washington, DC, including 28 in Montana.  The researchers focused on the hazards that cause the most serious playground injuries: falls, impact with moving swings, entanglement and head entrapment.

Because 80% of all injuries are caused by falls, protective surfacing under and around playground equipment is critical. At 75% of playgrounds across the country, researchers found inadequate surfacing. In Montana, none of the playgrounds surveyed had inadequate surfacing. The report also found that 71% of surveyed playgrounds in Montana had climbers more than six feet high and 64% had slides more than six feet high.  Nationally, 52% of climbers and 35% of slides were too high. “Children face serious injury on playgrounds when they fall from equipment that is too high onto surfacing that is too hard,” said Davis.

Impact with moving swings causes 69% of all swing injuries.  Swings that are too close to each other or to other equipment increase the chance that a child will be hit by a moving swing. MontPIRG and CFA found swing spacing
hazards at 39% of playgrounds in Montana, and 49% nationally. Surveyors also found that children can face strangulation hazards at 78% of Montana playgrounds, because of head entrapment and clothing entanglement dangers caused by gaps, protrusions and other similar hazards.

The groups also found that 14% of the playgrounds they surveyed across the country and 39% in Montana were made of wood that may be pressure treated. Some pressure treated wood may contain chromium copper arsenate, a known carcinogen. “We urge local authorities to test their
playgrounds made out of wood for CCA. Children should not be exposed to toxic chemicals as they play on playgrounds” Davis said.

The groups noted that nine localities and fifteen states have passed some form of regulation to protect their children from playground hazards.  These regulations come in many forms and by many authorities; the strongest
Laws mandate safety requirements for playground design, installation, and maintenance in all public playgrounds, while the weakest merely recommend that child care providers take a class on product safety. The groups stressed that the state should require all new or remodeled equipment to meet or exceed the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s safety recommendations. “Local advocacy efforts are crucial to protecting children from unsafe playgrounds,” said Jacobs.

“We know that playground safety regulations reduce injury,” said Davis, citing a 2002 study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health.  The study documented a 22% decrease in the rate of injuries at childcare centers in North Carolina since the state enacted a requirement that all new playground equipment and surfacing in childcare facilities conform to CPSC guidelines.

CFA has produced a Model Law on Public Play Equipment and Areas that contains detailed provisions addressing safety and design for all play equipment and areas, as well as separate requirements specifically intended for equipment for both pre-school age and school age children. Holly Raser, a State Representative from House District 70 in Missoula plans on introducing legislation on playground safety in the 2003 legislative session.

“In addition to a law to ensure new playgrounds meet safety guidelines, I’m excited about getting a resolution passen in this year’s legislature to draw attention across the state to structural and non-structural playground safety issues, as well as resources provided by MontPIRG and others to remedy them.  We can accomplish playground safety because everyone wants it,” explained Jacobs.

For parents who would like to check on their neighborhood
playgrounds, CFA offers a free Parent Checklist: How Safe Is Your Local Playground? The checklist sets out 12 important factors to examine and includes an explanation of what is recommended for safer playgrounds, available free to individuals by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Playground Checklist, PO Box 12099, Washington, DC 20005-0999 or on the web at www.consumerfed.org .

The full report is available on the web at www.pirg.org/playground or by sending a self-addressed stamped envelope to: Playing It Safe, 218 D St SE,  Washington, DC 20003. For more information, send e-mail to
montpirg@pirg.org or visit the PIRG web site www.pirg.org/playground .