Are Recycled Rubber Mats Unhealthy

The rubber found in recycled rubber mats comes from tires, that incorporate a amount of dangerous chemicals. In this article, read about the latest research with regards to the safety of recycled rubber mats.

Many individuals have expressed concern about the use of recycled rubber. Recycled rubber comes from used tires, which many fear could harbor lead or other toxins. Concerns kicked into high gear in 2009 after the environmental hardwood Boston MA advocacy group PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) uncovered internal communications in the EPA that stated the agency cannot vouch for the protection of recycled rubber because there had not been enough studies done at that time.
So are recycled rubber mats unhealthy? Let's examine the reality.
Recycled rubber mats



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are made of used tires that might otherwise will be found in the waste stream. Used tires can sit inside a landfill for thousands of years without breaking down. There, the tires can catch fire, causing massive production 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 become 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 end 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 twice as common on wood mulch surfaces and 5 times as common on concrete.
The utilization of recycled rubber raises justifiable concerns. The laundry list of volatile chemicals tried on the extender tires is alarming: benzene, toulene, arsenic, acetone and others, plus chemical toxins that include nickel, copper and cadmium. Older tires might have lead, as well. Under lab conditions, scientists observed that these chemicals leached from recycled tires. However, you will find important differences between the circumstances of those studies and how recycled rubber reacts during actual use:
In a reaction to the concerns raised by earlier recycled rubber studies, a number of new studies have been conducted specifically addressing recycled rubber found in playgrounds. These studies replicate field results, which may be dramatically distinctive from results obtained in lab conditions. In these studies, recycled rubber mats have been discovered safe.
The most recent is a two year long study produced by four state agencies in Connecticut published in August of 2010. The studies measured leaching and off-gassing of chemicals during normal playground usage, in periods of heavy rain, and in lab settings. While some volatile chemicals were found to get present in air above the play surfaces, specially in indoor play spaces and then there is less air circulations, the degree were low. Their studies figured that, while amounts of volatile chemicals were slightly higher 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 at the level above 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 the place that the chemicals are harmful, it can be worth noting that indoor play spaces showed up to ten times the maximum amount of volatile chemicals in the environment. If you want to err to the side of caution, you might like to consider refraining from using recycled rubber mats indoors, where there can be a minuscule but present danger which could deem recycled rubber mats unhealthy.
In outdoor playing conditions, however, field research has shown that you can breathe easy understanding that your kids are safer with all the mats these days.
Environment and Human Health:
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection:
USA Today:
Environmental Protection Agency:
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