Lead Poisoning Hazard on Public Playground Equipment in US

Another media release off the internet raises the issue of whether playground equipment in Australia is a lead hazard and who is testing it.

WASHINGTON, D.C. October 1, 1996. [The US] CPSC today released the results of a report indicating that public playground equipment could have chipping and peeling lead paint.

CPSC tested and analysed paint from 26 playgrounds in 13 cities. Of those, 16 playgrounds in 11 cities had levels of lead found in the paint on playground equipment that are high enough to be recognised as a federal priority for lead hazard control measures. In addition to collecting its own data, CPSC also received reports from local communities of lead paint on 125 playgrounds in 11 additional cities.

CPSC found that in some of the paint chips from playground equipment, the levels of lead were high enough that a child ingesting a paint chip one-tenth of a square inch - about the size that could fit on the tip of a pencil eraser - each day for about 15 to 30 days could have blood lead levels at or above the 10 microgram per decilitre amount considered dangerous for children especially those six years old and younger.

In addition to its investigation of older playground equipment, CPSC is testing the paint on recently manufactured equipment. CPSC is making sure that these products are in compliance with the agency's requirements for painted playground equipment.

If states, cities, or local communities suspect they may have playground equipment painted with lead paint, CPSC recommends they test the equipment using an accredited laboratory. CPSC does not recommend using lead test kits on playground equipment since CPSC, HUD, and EPA have found these test kits unreliable.

For more information on leaded product recalls, go to
lead poisoning hazard consumer product recalls