Cohousing-L Mailing List: Chemical Sensitivity to Granulated Tires on Play Grounds

[Fred H Olson (fholson]

Around Oct 16 there was discussion about
Subject: Pea gravel "pit" around playstructure
that included some discussion of using recycled shreaded rubber tire
around playstructures.  See for example (there are other messages):
http://lists.cohousing.org/archives/cohousing-l/msg24637.html

Today I received from Roslyn Hamilton <oebn [at] teleport.com> of the Oregon
Ecobuilding Network,  information that passed thru several hands and that
was written in German ... about
  Chemical Sensitivity to Granulated Tires on Play Grounds
The message was posted to a mailing list about chemical sensitivity:
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/csda/  but they do not have public
archives.

Below is the introduction (originally in English) to the csda list.
The whole message is at: http://l.cohousing.org/tires.htm
The web version includes the German message and an automated
translation from Alta Vista Babel Fish Translation at Bottom.

I do not know how relevant the German experience is to materials available
in the US that cohousing communities might consider using.
I encourage anyone who cares to dig into this and post a more
substantive message.

Note that I think "MCS" referes to " Multiple Chemical Sensitivity".

Fred, listserv manager
--------------------  FORWARDED MESSAGE FOLLOWS --------------------

----- Original Message -----
From: Lawrence A. Plumlee
To: csda [at] yahoogroups.com
Cc: info [at] dugi-ev.de
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2006 5:50 AM
Subject: [csda] Hazard of Granulated Tires Used on Play Grounds with Adhesive 
as Artificial Turf

Dear Friends,

The German Environmental Health Initiative (DUGI), a public interest
group, writes today below that a child has developed severe MCS after
playing on a playground made of granulated tires covered with adhesive.
They ask for any information we may have about its toxicity.

I know that the U.S. National Park Service has used ground tires in
adhesive for building walkways over the Anacostia River at Kenilworth
Gardens in Washington, DC.  I also know that whole tires discarded into
the ocean in hopes that fish would grow in them have been a failure in
that fish do not like them.  One hypothesis is that this is due to toxic
materials emanating from the tires.  I believe the City of New York has
information on this, as would the New York and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agencies.  Any information we have, or can obtain, would be
helpful to those in Germany who are trying to remediate this problem.  It
also may be a problem in the U.S.  Please send a copy of data you have to
<info [at] dugi-ev.de>

Gratefully,
Larry