Owner’s Manual Play House
OWNER PH-2010 Rev. 11/22/2010 BRS
APPENDIX A
Infor ation on Playground Surfacing Materials:
Infor ation on Playground Surfacing Materials:Infor ation on Playground Surfacing Materials:
Infor ation on Playground Surfacing Materials:
The following information is from the United States Consumer Product Safety
Commission’s Information Sheet for playground surfacing material Also
see the following website for additional information:
www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/323.html.
X3. CONSUMER INFORMATION SHEET FOR PLAYGROUND SURFACING MATERIALS
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X3.1 The U.S. Consume P oduct Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates that about 100,000
playg ound equipment- elated inju ies esulting f om falls to the g ound su face a e t eated
annually in U.S. hospital eme gency ooms. Inju ies involving this haza d patte n tend to be
among the most se ious of all playg ound inju ies, and have the potential to be fatal, pa ticula ly
when the inju y is to the head. The su face unde and a ound playg ound equipment can be a
majo facto in dete mining the inju y-causing potential of a fall. It is self evident that a fall onto a
shock-abso bing su face is less likely to cause a se ious inju y than a fall onto a ha d su face.
Playg ound equipment should neve be placed on ha d su faces such as conc ete o asphalt
and while g ass may appea to be acceptable it may quickly tu n to ha d packed ea th in a eas
of high t affic. Sh edded ba k mulch, wood chips, fine sand o find g avel a e conside ed to be
acceptable shock abso bing su faces when installed and maintained at a sufficient depth unde
and a ound playg ound equipment.
X3.2 Table X3.1 lists the maximum height f om which a child would not be expected to sustain a
life-th eatening head inju y in a fall onto fou diffe ent loose-fill su facing mate ials if they a e
installed and maintained at depths of 6, 9, and 12 in. Howeve , it should be ecognized that all
inju ies due to falls cannot be p evented no matte what su facing mate ial is used.
X3.3 It is ecommended that a shock abso bing mate ial should extend a minimum of 6 ft in all
di ections f om the pe imete of stationa y equipment such as climbe s and slides. Howeve ,
because child en may delibe ately jump f om a moving swing, the shock abso bing mate ial
should extend in the f ont and ea of a swing a minimum distance of 2 times the height of the
pivot point measu ed f om a point di ectly beneath the pivot on the suppo ting st uctu e.
X3.4 This info mation is intended to assist in compa ing the elative shock-abso bing p ope ties
of va ious mate ials. No pa ticula mate ial is ecommended ove anothe . Howeve , each
mate ial is only effective when p ope ly maintained. Mate ials should be checked pe iodically
and eplenished to maintain co ect depth as dete mined necessa y fo you equipment. The
choice of a mate ial depends on the type and height of the playg ound equipment, the
availability of the mate ial in you a ea, and its cost.
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This info mation has been ext acted f om the CPSC publications “Playg ound
Su facing — Technical Info mation Guide” and “Handbook fo Public Playg ound Safety.”
Copies of these epo ts can be obtained by sending a postca d to: Office of Public Affai s, U.S.
Consume P oduct Safety Commission, Washington, D.C., 20207 o call the toll-f ee hotline: 1-
800-638-2772.
The Ame ican Society fo Testing and Mate ials takes no position especting the validity
of any pa ent ight asse ted in connection with any item mentioned in this standa d. Use s of
this standa d a e exp essly advised that dete mination of the validity of any such pa ent ights,
and the isk of inf ingement of such ights, a e enti ely thei own esponsibility.
The standa d is subject to evision at any time by the esponsible technical committee
and must be eviewed eve y five yea s and if not evised, eithe app oved o withd awn. You
comments a e invited eithe fo evision of this standa d o fo additional standa ds and should
be add essed to ASTM Headqua te s. You comments will eceive ca eful conside ation at a
meeting of the esponsible technical committee, which you may attend. If you feel that you
comments have not eceived a fai hea ing you should make you views known to the ASTM
Committee on Standa ds. 100 Ba Ha bo D ive, West Conshohocken, PA 19428.
