「Are Recycled Rubber Mats Unhealthy」の版間の差分

2016年7月27日 (水) 18:35時点における版

The rubber used in recycled rubber mats comes from tires, that incorporate a quantity of dangerous chemicals. In this article, read about the latest research concerning the safety of recycled rubber mats.

Many individuals have expressed concern about the use of recycled rubber. Recycled rubber arises from used tires, which many fear could harbor lead or other toxins. Concerns kicked into high gear during 2009 after the environmental advocacy group PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) uncovered internal communications in the EPA that stated that this agency can't vouch for the safety of recycled rubber because there had not been enough studies done in those days.
So are recycled rubber mats unhealthy? Let's examine the facts.
Recycled rubber mats



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are made from used tires that could otherwise end up in the waste stream. Used tires can sit in the landfill for thousands of years without breaking down. There, the tires can catch fire, leading to massive creation of toxic smoke. Tire fires are hard to extinguish, and tires can smolder in the stacks for a long time at a time. In open dumps, they turn into a breeding ground for mosquitoes, which spread disease.
Recycling tires into materials like playground mulch and rubber mats cuts down on number of tires that wind up in landfills by approximately 90%.
Rubber mats and mulch on playgrounds result in significant reductions in injuries as compared with wood mulch or concrete. According to one study, injuries were doubly common on wood mulch kitchens Boston MA surfaces and half a dozen times as common on concrete.
The use of recycled rubber raises justifiable concerns. The laundry listing of volatile chemicals tried it tires is alarming: benzene, toulene, arsenic, acetone and many others, plus heavy metals that include nickel, copper and cadmium. Older tires might have lead, as well. Under lab conditions, scientists observed the chemicals leached from recycled tires. However, there are important differences involving the circumstances of such studies and how recycled rubber reacts during actual use:
In a reaction to the concerns raised by earlier recycled rubber studies, many new reports have been conducted specifically addressing recycled rubber employed in playgrounds. These studies replicate field results, that may be dramatically not the same as results obtained in lab conditions. In these studies, recycled rubber mats have been found safe.
The newest is a two year long study made by four state agencies in Connecticut published in August of 2010. The studies measured leaching and off-gassing of chemicals during normal playground usage, during periods of heavy rain, and in lab settings. While some volatile chemicals were found to become present in the environment above the play surfaces, specially in indoor play spaces high is less air circulations, the levels were low. Their studies figured that, while degrees of volatile chemicals were slightly more than what are known as background levels, they were not high enough being considered a health risk. The only chemical that leached out of the fields in a level higher than what is considered acceptable was zinc, which is not considered dangerous to humans unless excess amounts are ingested.
While the amount of chemicals off-gassing from indoor play spaces was considered below the threshold where the chemicals are harmful, it is worth noting that indoor play spaces showed approximately ten times all the volatile chemicals in mid-air. If you want to err to the side of caution, you might like to consider refraining by using recycled rubber mats indoors, where there is really a minuscule but present danger which could deem recycled rubber mats unhealthy.
In outdoor playing conditions, however, field studies show that you can breathe easy understanding that your kids are safer with all the mats today.
Environment and Human Health:
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection:
USA Today:
Environmental Protection Agency:
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