Playground Surfacing Materials Expert Article

Each year, thousands of children receive emergency room treatment for injuries sustained on playgrounds in the United States. Many of these injuries involve falls to the protective surfacing material beneath or around public playground equipment, which is a commonly examined issue in personal injury litigation.

In this article, the playground safety experts at Robson Forensic discuss the aspects of protective surface materials that are commonly relevant to playground safety investigations.

Playground Safety: Protective Surfacing Materials

The two options for surfacing public playgrounds include unitary and loose-fill materials. Mulch is the most common loose-fill material, but other approved options exist. Unitary surfaces are either poured in place or consist of interlocking mats. Each option has pros and cons and slightly different issues that may pertain to litigation.

Mulch and Other Loose-Fill Surfacing Materials

The amount of loose-fill needed is dependent on the type of playground surfacing material that is chosen and the height of the playground structure.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)’s Public Playground Safety Handbook (2015) provides guidance on the correlation between surface depth and protected fall height for acceptable loose-fill surfacing materials.
 

Playground equipment and protective surfacing material under and around the equipment should always be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. These instructions should include installation requirements and equipment fall heights.

Maintenance of Loose-Fill Surfacing

Most loose-fill material will decompose, compress, or become displaced over time. This impacts the ability of the surfacing material to protect users. Regular maintenance of loose-fill material is required to ensure the surfacing remains consistent with the fall height of the equipment.

Proper maintenance includes regular checks of all of the surfacing material(s) for depth and coverage. Special attention should be paid to areas of high-use or anticipated displacement and decomposition, including:

• Areas under swings
• Areas at slide exists
• Pooling water on mulch surfaces
• Frozen surfacing

Regular, consistent maintenance is critical for ensuring that loose-fill materials provide users with the required impact attenuation within the use zone of the equipment. During the discovery process, it will be important to understand what policies and procedures were in place to ensure regular maintenance and if relevant records exist.

Unitary Surfacing

Unitary surfacing is a manufactured material that typically consists of rubber tiles, mats, or a combination of materials held in place by a poured in place binder. Once cured, it forms a unitary, or singular, shock-absorbing surface.

These surfacing products should be tested for compliance with ASTM Standard F1292: Standard Specification for Impact Attenuation of Surfacing Materials Within the Use Zone of Playground Equipment.

Unitary surfacing typically requires professional installation. Potential buyers should request ASTM F1292 test data from the manufacturer, which identifies the critical height of the equipment to determine the appropriate fall surface. Additionally, installation site requirements should be obtained, as some unitary surfacing materials need to be installed over a hard surface, while others do not.

ASTM 3313 can also provide standards for field test data of surfacing material on site.

Unitary surfacing will degrade over time which can lead to pooling water and a variety of slip/trip hazards. In some applications, breakdown of the top surface will expose hard base layers. Signs of deterioration may affect the impact attenuation qualities of the unitary surfacing material. The discovery process should also examine the inspection and maintenance history of unitary surfaces and information regarding F1292 test data.

Playground Surfacing Definitions

The following terms are commonly used by playground equipment manufacturers, standards organizations, and other safety groups. These definitions are excerpted from the CPSC’s Public Playground Safety Handbook and the ASTM International Specifications for Playground Equipment for Public Use.

• Use Zone: The surface under and around a piece of equipment onto which a child falling from or exiting from the equipment would be expected to land. These areas are also designated for unrestricted circulation around the equipment.
• Protective Surfacing: Material(s) to be used within the use zone of any playground equipment.
• Fall Height: The vertical distance between the highest designated play surface on a piece of equipment and the protective surfacing beneath it.
• Critical Height: The fall height below which a life-threatening head injury would not be expected to occur.

Playground Injury Investigations

Expert witness investigation involving playground injuries review records relating to the installation and maintenance of the playground equipment and surfacing material, incident reports, and when appropriate, the equipment manufacturer’s guidelines and recommendations.

Depending on the case, an expert may also evaluate the level of supervision on the playground in relation to the age(s) of the children involved, the policy and procedures of the facility, the training of the supervisors, and whether the playground equipment was age-appropriate.

Child Supervision & Playground Safety Experts

Among the supervision experts at Robson Forensic are Certified Playground Safety Inspectors who are teachers, school administrators, and child/adult day care program coordinators. They have hands on experience working in organized public and private care settings, designing, and implementing safety policies, establishing processes and procedures to screen, hire, and train staff, and reporting/investigating incidents.

For more information, submit an inquiry or call us at 800.813.6736.

Featured Expert

Elizabeth S. Rodano, Ed.D., C.P.S.I.

Child Care Supervision & Facility Safety Expert

Dr. Elizabeth Rodano is an expert in the management and operations of programs and facilities that provide education, supervision, and care to children from early childhood through middle school ages. She applies her expertise to forensic casework involving physical injuries, claims of abuse or neglect, and issues involving licensing and professional liability.