By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – The New York Public Interest Research Group says too many playgrounds pose a danger to children statewide. NYPIRG released its 2004 playground safety report Wednesday.
The survey examined 157 playgrounds in New York finding that many are a safety hazard. Nearly 70 percent of playgrounds across the state have equipment that pose a toxic threat.
NYPIRG'S Western New York regional coordinator Mary Carney says about 15 playgrounds in the Buffalo Niagara region were reviewed for the report.
"Unfortunately, we found hazards on all but one of the playgrounds surveyed around the state," Carney said. "Virtually all playgrounds contain at least one hazard, either unprotected surfaces or toxic hazards on the playground."
A playground in the Livingston County town of Mount Morris was included in the top ten most potentially hazardous playgrounds in the state. Carney says the top ten were cited for seven possible hazards.
"They were found to have unsafe surfaces, inadequate fall zones, play equipment of unsafe heights, unsafe swings, head entrapment, clothing entanglement and potential toxic hazards."
Last September, three Western New York playgrounds were closed due to high levels of arsenic in the soil. The Sunshine Park playground on the West Side, the Maple East Elementary playground in Williamsville and Marilla Elementary school playground all closed. They were built with the chemical known as CCA used in pressure treated wood.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission says more than 207,000 children were seriously hurt last year at playgrounds across the US. And, on average, 17 children die each year due to playground related incidents.