School Safety Expert Witness On Playground Standards

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that each year in the United States, emergency departments treat more than 200,000 children ages 14 and younger for playground related injuries (Tinsworth D, McDonald J., Special Study: Injuries and Deaths Associated with Children’s Playground Equipment. Washington, DC, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 2001). Tinsworth also reported that approximately 45% of playground-related injuries are severe – fractures, internal injuries, concussions, dislocations, and amputations. In QUESTIONS, ANSWERS and FALLACIES ON PLAYGROUND SAFETY, school safety expert witness Scott A. Burton, Safety Play, Inc., writes on ASTM standards s for the American Society for Testing and Materials.

ASTM creates safety standards for many industries, including playgrounds for public use, home use, children under two, soft-contained playgrounds, playground fencing, playground & sports surfacing, trampolines, sports equipment and facilities, amusement rides, etc.
Some or all of the playground safety standards are law in some states, and for some entities who have adopted it into their bylaws.

The current version of the ASTM Public Use Playground Standard is #F1487-11, published in November 2011. The current version of the ASTM Public Use Playground Fencing Standard is #F2049-11.

Although ASTM is a voluntary, non-profit organization, the Standards themselves are considered by some to be “voluntary” yet by others to be the “standard of care” (and are adopted into law in some states!). ASTM is always looking for potential members from various sectors. Interested parties are always welcome to attend meetings. They can become a member and learn the extensive process that we go through to make a Standard. Member categories include Manufacturers (“Producers”), Owner/Operators (“Users”), Consultants and General Interest. It is a forum for all concerned parties to express their own interests and ideas so that we can all come to an agreement on each issue at hand. This is a time-consuming process where, like laws, changing them reduces injuries and saves lives.

CPSC stands for the (United States) Consumer Product Safety Commission.
CPSC created the U.S. – CPSC Safety Guidelines on Public & Home Playground Equipment. CPSC also issues a checklist on Soft Contained Play Equipment (SCPE), as well as recalls of specific products of all kinds.
The CPSC “Public Playground Safety Handbook” #325 (“Guidelines”) are law in some states and for some entities who have adopted it into their bylaws.

The original version of the CPSC Guidelines #325 was first published in 1981. The next revision was published in September of 1991. The revision after that was published in September of 1994. The revision after that was published in September of 1997, but was re-released in November of 1997 with minor corrections. The next revision was released on April 21, 2008. The current revision was released in November, 2010.