EPA revisiting safety of shredded tire/tire crumb on playgrounds

[brittone2]

Just saw a bit about this w/ respect to the playstructure and rubber tire surface that the Obamas have under their playset.

Here are some links:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090604/ap_on_go_ot/us_playground_safety
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1332647
http://www.ktvu.com/news/19657182/detail.html

Not trying to cause any unnecessary worry, but thought I'd mention it for anyone considering surfacing material for their own playsets. Most of the options are expensive (especially rubber when I looked into it), so this is possibly one thing to factor into your decision making process.

[MarisaSF]

Thank you for posting. A friend of mine was offered tire mulch as a backyard option and both of our guts told us it just seemed wrong. I'm all for recycling; I like the idea of old tires being turned into shoe soles, perhaps, but not into a material my kids will roll in and my rainwater will seep through.

Interesting.