December 2009 - Parks & Recreation - 48

A look at the controversy surrounding rubber mulch

By Rachel Roberts

Healthcare reform. The war in Iraq. Playground surfacing.
These decisions are all in a day's work for President Barack
Obama. Recently, the Obama family installed a playground for
daughters Malia and Sasha on the White House grounds, and
chose rubber mulch for the surfacing. When the decision was
announced, it caused a flurry of media attention, all asking if
this indeed was the right choice.
Park and recreation managers are faced with this same
decision for their facilities-cost, durability, appearance
and safety are all deciding factors. But recently, some environmental groups have said that safety needs to be reconsidered, and that rubber mulch-just like the kind that the
Obamas chose-could be toxic to children. Under guidelines
set by Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer
Products Safety Commission (and inspected by the National
Playground Safety Institute), rubber mulch is deemed to be
completely safe and a viable option as a safety surface. So,
why the controversy?
46	 Parks & Recreation

DECEMBER 2009

www.NRPA .ORG



December 2009 - Parks & Recreation

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