Analysis

of Crumb Rubber Shred from Maryland and Virginia Playgrounds

September 30, 2020

Safe Healthy Playing Fields
dcsafehealthy@gmail.com


Report on lead in poured-in-place (PIP) rubber playgrounds located at:
Medieval Dragon Playground – South Bowie Community Center, 1717 Pittsfield Lane Bowie, MD
20716.
Woodland Wonderland Playground, 8001 Walker Mill Rd, Capitol Heights, MD 20743
Chessie's Big Backyard, 6624 Telegraph Rd, Alexandria, VA 22310
Clemyjontri Park, 6317 VA-193, McLean, VA 22101
Stafford Drive Park, 3300 Stafford Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030
Helen Miller/Bernard Hunter Park, 224 N Fayette St, Alexandria, VA 22314
RIO Washingtonian Center Playground, 231 Rio Blvd, Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Wizard of Oz Playground, 301 Watkins Park Dr, Upper Marlboro, MD 20774


The Ecology Center, a Michigan-based non-profit environmental organization, was contacted by the Safe
Healthy Playing Fields regarding concerns about metals and other chemicals of concern that may be in
rubber shred-based PIP playgrounds and athletic fields. The Ecology Center has been conducting ongoing
analysis of samples provided by Safe Healthy Playing Fields, concerned community members,
investigative reporters and other interested parties.

The rubber shred was analyzed by the Ecology Center using a High Definition X-ray Fluorescence (HD
XRF) spectrometer manufactured by XOS (www.xos.com/HDXRF). The instrument used monochromatic
excitation energies of 7, 17, and 33 KeV. The spot size is one millimeter. Our test method used Certified
Reference Materials ERM-EC680k and ERM-EC681k as reference standards.
(http://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC37540/7540%20-%20ERM-
EC680k%20%20ERM-EC681k_report_complete.pdf).


Background
On May 2, 2019 the Ecology Center provided a report to Deputy Mayor of Education Paul Kihn and
Chancellor Lewis Ferebee regarding elevated lead levels at Janney Elementary School, 4130 Albemarle
St. NW, Washington, DC. The report showed 24% of the portion of the bulk sample analyzed contained
shred with high levels (greater than 1,951 ppm) of lead. A different analysis at a contract lab using

Report on lead in PIP playgrounds, Ecology Center, September 29, 2020

inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) confirmed that some shred contained up to
7,000 ppm lead.

On June 13, 2019 several additional samples were sent to the Ecology Center. As in the testing results for
Janney Elementary School reported on May 2, 2019, several of the tested shreds of material at Takoma
Education Campus and Truesdell Education Campus contained elevated concentrations of lead (greater
than 90 ppm, most cases greater than 400 ppm). In addition, a second sample collected from Janney
Elementary contained a shred with nearly 4,000 ppm lead. At all three playgrounds, lead
concentrations in pieces of material as high as 4,000 ppm were identified.


Sample Description and Test Results
Additional samples were collected in late 2019 and early 2020. Samples were collected in zip lock bags
and chain of custody forms were provided by individuals collecting samples. The number of individual
rubber shreds tested in each bulk sample varied depending on the volume of the bulk sample collected
and the uniqueness or variation in the material in the sample. Variation in the sample materials was
visually assessed. Most rubber shred weights were between 0.17 – 1.74 grams. The larger weight shreds
typically were composed of multiple smaller shreds adhered together. Images of two examples of these
larger shreds are included in the Appendix. The completion of sample analysis was delayed due to the
COVID pandemic.

A summary of the test results from the 96 shreds is show below:
• Two of the eight parks’ samples had multiple individual rubber shreds with greater than 90 part
per million (ppm) lead.
• Medieval Dragon and Woodland Wonderland each had multiple rubber shreds with over 1,000
ppm lead.
• Medieval Dragon and Woodland Wonderland each had multi-shred adhered samples which had
very heterogeneous test results. Two images are included in the Appendix to illustrate the range of
concentrations found in these samples.
• Dissection of several of the individual shreds showed that lead levels on the exterior and interior
of these samples were identical.
• Due to the limited sample size and the heterogeneous lead distribution in rubber shred, the results
for the six parks with low average lead cannot guarantee those parks are lead-free.

Summary Table of Rubber Shreds Analyzed

No. Percent Number Percent
Ave. Max. Number
Rubber Shreds Shreds Shreds
Site Lead Lead Shreds >90
Shreds >90 >400 >400
(ppm) (ppm) ppm
Analyzed ppm ppm ppm
Chessie’s Big Backyard – Alexandria, VA 10 1 2 0 0% 0 0%
Clemyjontri Park – McLean, VA 10 3 13 0 0% 0 0%
Helen Miller Park – Alexandria, VA 10 6 12 0 0% 0 0%
Medieval Dragon – Bowie, MD 21 1,548 30,292 4 19% 2 10%
Rio Washingtonian – Gaithersburg, MD 10 7 38 0 0% 0 0%
Stafford Drive Park – Fairfax, VA 10 7 17 0 0% 0 0%
Wizard of Oz – Upper Marlboro, MD 10 0 1 0 0% 0 0%
Woodland Wonderland - Capitol Heights 15 1,019 4,750 6 40% 5 33%

Report on lead in PIP playgrounds, Ecology Center, September 30, 2020 2

Conclusions
The results of these sample sets are comparable to dozens of other poured-in-place (PIP) playgrounds we
have tested over the last two years. Rubber shred materials sampled were very heterogeneous in terms
of lead levels. Dissection of individual shreds with lead greater then 1,000 ppm illustrates that lead is
uniformly distributed through a single rubber shred. This study did not assess the fate, release rate or
potential exposures from lead-containing shred.

The Ecology Center welcomes the opportunity to discuss these findings with you further. Please contact
Jeff Gearhart at 734-369-9276.

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 Appendix: Images of individual shreds

Report on lead in PIP playgrounds, Ecology Center, September 30, 2020 4

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