PLAYGROUND MATERIAL

Each year over 200,000 children are treated for injuries sustained during a playground fall. Playgrounds should be safe havens for children.

The surface under and around playground equipment can be a major factor in determining the injury-causing potential of a fall. It is self evident that a fall on to a shock absorbing surface is less likely to cause a serious injury than a fall on to a hard surface. Because head impact injuries from a fall have the potential for being life threatening, the more shock absorbing a surface can be made, the greater the probability that the severity of the injury will be reduced.

The most important thing to determine when trying to decide on a fall protection barrier is the critical fall height of the different pieces of playground equipment. Critical fall height is an approximation of the maximum fall height from which a life-threatening head injury would not be expected to occur.

The surfacing material used under and around a particular piece of playground equipment should have a Critical Height value of at least the height of the highest accessible part of the equipment.

Handbook for Public Playground Safety, Pub. No. 325 U.S.
Consumer Produce Safety Commission, Washington, DC

RMP FOR PLAYGROUNDS