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| One ton of crumb rubber leaking out of bag at Wootton HS. |
We petition the Obama administration to:
direct the Consumer Product Safety Commission to ensure playgrounds and sports fields are safe and the in-fills do not exceed harmful chemical limits.
Direct the CPSC to ensure playgrounds, play surfaces & athletic fields for young athletes are safe by meeting the standards for lead & harmful chemicals set out in law for children’s products. The CPSIA of 2008 defines a children's product as a “consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger." Industry marketing of tire derived surfaces clearly target children’s use. Yet, the CPSC has balked at categorizing these surfaces as children’s products neither have they acted to make these surfaces safe for children. Therefore, please direct the CPSC to ensure these products comply with the statutory limits for children’s products, so that these surfaces are lead-safe & don't pose a contamination risk to children.http://wh.gov/iGCcg
As a member of the SHPFC, I thank you for presenting this worthwhile effort to your readers. What parents throughout MC don't understand as well is that MCPS does not perform the G-MAX testing for concussive risk on ST fields regularly; they don't sanitize their fields on a regular basis; their grooming schedules for fields are questionable; and they've probably never screened them for metallic debris that arrives in the crumb rubber.
ReplyDeleteWe've asked James Song on numerous occasions to show us the MCPS maintenance logs and the accounting expenditures for the proper maintenance of MC ST fields. He has never shared them. Larry Bowers has also been asked direct questions regarding these expenditures. His answers are a collective dodge. The routine maintenance should include all of the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0JMPZQ4P4Q
We've also asked MC to build a top-of-the-line grass field from which real-world cost comparisons can be made between ST and great grass. That was two years ago. However, MC Parks says they can build a new ST field in the Laytonia special protection area, but they can't install a sand-capped grass field. No logic there.
Many thanks once again.
Bailey Condrey
Kensington, MD