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Dangerous Flaw Found In Protective Playground Mats

Temperatures In Rubber Cushioning Rises To Extreme Levels On Hot Days

NEW YORK (CBS) ― You may not realize it, but at your favorite local playground there may be an unlikely hidden danger that can send your children to the emergency room: rubber mats designed to actually protect children when they fall.

While the mats can cushion a fall, they become incredibly dangerous on hot days when the blistering sun causes the mats' temperatures to rise to nightmarish levels.

For one small child, that nightmare became a reality this past Memorial Day. Will Casson was spending the afternoon at Carl Shultz Park on Manhattan's Upper East Side. When the barefoot boy jumped off the playground and onto the mat, his feet instantly burned.

"As soon as he hit the rubber mats he started screaming. [His mother] got to him maybe 10-seconds later and she picked him up and the skin was dripping off the bottom of his feet," says Rich Casson, Will's father.

Will was rushed to the hospital burn unit where his blistering and peeling feet were wrapped and treated.

"It was really awful. The pain was excruciating," says Mr. Casson. "As a parent, it was absolutely horrible to watch."

To give you an idea as to just how much hotter these mats become, CBS 2 used today's temperatures as an example. Outside at the playground, the temperature was 86 degrees, while the temperature of the concrete pavement read 100 degrees. Take a few steps back on the mat, however, and the temperature climbs to an astounding 134 degrees.

When we tested, the temperature on the mats was always above 100 degrees. So what exactly does a temperature like that mean for your child's skin?

"Any contact with the surface that's over 120 degrees can burn the skin in a matter of minutes. Once you approach 140 degrees it can be a matter of seconds," says Dr. Adam Vella of Mt. Sinai Hospital. "You have to be aware of the temperature of the surface."

Will's injury isn't the first time an incident like this has occurred. Last year CBS 2 told you about another little boy who was burned at Van Vorhees playground in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn. The boy suffered the same barefoot burns as Will, from the same protective matting.

"You can't have a safety surface in your playground that prevents one injury and causes another," Mr. Casson says.

So what should cities do to make sure children don't get burned while at the same time protecting them from falls? Playground expert, Dr. Donna Thompson ,says there isn't a perfect solution yet, but in the meantime, there are still things that can be done.

"One of the things, certainly, is to plant trees," Thompson says. "But the trees have to be big enough so they can provide shade. Another option is to provide shade structures to do that."

Meanwhile, the Cassons are now lobbing for better warning signs, for the city to do more, and for parents to report whenever a child is burned.

As for Will, he's doing just fine and is scar-free, but his parents say the incident left a definite impression on him:

"He's got about 15 or 20 words, and one of them is 'hot,'" Mr. Casson jokes.

Different universities are testing a material which would change colors as it gets hotter, similar to children's' drinking cups which turn red when they're hot. They are also testing a kind of cooling system which would be underneath the mats, but the system is not on the market yet.

NYC TO MAKE PLAYGROUND CHANGES?

Parents who viewed the home video CBS 2 HD acquired of Will Casson's feet were alarmed by the danger of the rubber playground mats, which can burn a child's foot at temperatures above 100 degrees. Immediately, the concerned parents began doing touch tests at the playground.

One nanny even grabbed the child she was caring for and fled the 11th Avenue playground and its rubber mat surface.

So what does Adrian Benepe, the city's Parks Commissioner, have to say about the findings?

"We certainly sympathize with what happened with this poor kid," Benepe says.

Benepe admits sand and wood chips are cooler, but cannot be used because of choking dangers and pet contamination. He says he's pushing the playground industry to come up with a new material, one that absorbs the shock of a falling child without absorbing so much heat.

Safety experts say one thing is needed at all playgrounds, and that is lots of shade. Unfortunately for many New York City playgrounds, there's little shade to offer.

"We're going to be planting a million more trees in New York City. We'll be looking to add more as we develop the playground," Benepe says.

Benepe stresses that any new surfacing material created by the playground industry must also be affordable. The cooling system that could be installed under the mat is still being tested, but there are concerns that in the end, it could simply be too costly.

CBS 2 HD and wcbstv.com will continue to monitor the developments from this story.

CBS 2 HD's Kristine Johnson and Dave Carlin contributed to this story.

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