U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2008
Release #08-251

CPSC Promotes the Building of Safer Playgrounds to Help Reduce 200,000
Annual Injuries

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Children and playgrounds go together like chocolate
and milk. Drop by any playground this spring and summer and you are
bound to find dozens of active kids swinging, sliding, climbing and
having a good time.

Yet a good time on the community or school playground can be ruined by a
fall, entrapment, cut or another type of injury. Each year, about
200,000 children are treated in hospital emergency rooms for injuries
related to playground equipment.

During National Playground Safety Week (April 21-25), CPSC staff is
releasing an update to the popular Handbook for Public Playground
Safety, which contains guidance for childcare personnel, school
officials, designers, inspectors, parents and school groups on building
safer playgrounds. Considered by many to be the model handbook of
playground safety, the agency's guidelines for public playgrounds have
been incorporated by many municipalities into local and state building
codes. The handbook provides specifications for creating safer play
zones and avoiding hazards with equipment such as sharp points,
entrapments, and entanglements.

The updated Handbook for Public Playground Safety contains new
guidelines from CPSC staff for playground equipment for children as
young as six months old, track and log rolls for older children, and
playground surfacing, as well as suggestions on protecting children from
sun exposure on playgrounds.

CPSC offers the following tips to help prevent injuries and other
hazards on public and home playgrounds:

The Commission provides these important life-saving tips:

>> Always supervise children on play equipment to make sure they are
safe.

>> Purchase playground equipment that meets the latest safety standards.

>> Maintain at least 9 inches of protective surfacing, including
shredded/recycled rubber, wood chips, wood mulch (non-CCA treated), sand
or pea gravel under and around playground equipment to cushion children
from falls.

>> Check that protective surfacing extends at least 6 feet in all
directions from play equipment. For swings, extend protective surfacing
in front and back of the swing, twice the height of the suspending bar.

>> Repair sharp points or edges on equipment. Replace missing hardware
and close "S" hooks that can cause injuries.

>> Never attach ropes, jump ropes, clotheslines, pet leashes or cords of
any kind to play equipment due to the strangulation hazard.

To order free copies of the CPSC staff's updated Handbook for Public
Playground Safety (CPSC-325), CPSC's Outdoor Home Playground Handbook
(CPSC-324), Home Playground Safety Checklist (CPSC-323), or any CPSC
publication, email us at info@cpsc.gov. CPSC publications can also be
downlo aded at www.cpsc.gov

You can find more information about National Playground Safety Week at
http://www.playgroundsafety.org/ the Web site for the National Program for
Playground Safety.

To see this release on CPSC's web site, please go to:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08251.html