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ENVIRONMENT
Hazards of Recycled Rubber
Last year I wrote a post outlining the hazards of recycled rubber, which include health complications from airborne contaminants to chemicals leached into soil and drinking water. Since I wrote that post, a local park installed two new playgrounds with recycled rubber material. On hot days the petrochemical smells carry on the breeze up to a football field length away. This makes many people with asthma or other allergies to chemicals unable to walk in the vicinity. The fact that taxpayer money was used to purchase such a controversial material is problematic.
Recycled Rubber: An Industry Protecting Itself
On the surface level, recycling tires for playgrounds and mulch might seem like a sustainable or “green” way to reuse the material. However, tires are made up of petrochemicals (oil products) and other ingredients, including carbon black (a coal product) and heavy metals like zinc. The negative health effects of coming into contact with these materials are clear. A Yale University study detected 96 chemicals in their test sample of playgrounds. Just under half of the chemicals found in the sample do not have toxicity studies, not even an outline of the dangers they pose to public health. In addition, 20% of the chemicals…
