An Instagramming mom is calling attention to a potential menace that is showing up in a growing number of America's playgrounds: ground rubber mulch.
Recycling old tires for practical use at first seems like a good idea. U.S. motorists buy more than 340 million replacement tires each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. They can become long-lasting landfill residents if eventually tossed.
But the tires include wires, harmful chemicals, and other substances. The Instagram post from Roxanne Ideh (@holistichealingbyrox) spotlighted that the ground rubber may simply be passing a hazard from the road to the playground.
"Your child's favorite playground could be the most toxic place they visit," the mom wrote with a clip of a rubber-mulched area.
The global rubber mulch business is worth more than $670 million. The product has strong perks that include pest resistance, color variety, and a long lifespan, according to India analysis firm Global Growth Insights.
It's being used by homeowners in flower beds, as well, making health risks associated with the product's cons all the more worrisome.
On Instagram, the mom noted the chemical 6PPD, which Yale Environment 360 said is added to tires to prevent cracking. It's been linked to fish deaths as part of a study to test the substance's potency. The chemical's impact on human health hasn't been studied, but it has been found in the urine of humans from South China, per the report.
A chemical capable of killing fish and infiltrating our bodies would trouble any mother. And the one on Instagram has a list of other terrible claims about the mulch, including cancer risks and volatile gas pollution. NBC News reported that the fumes and carcinogens could be inhaled. There's fear that these substances could be leaching into the soil, too.
Global Growth noted the health concerns as one of the product's "market constraints," though government-based analysis and other studies have mixed reports. While rubber contains dangerous substances, several reviews stated a need for more examination into the human health impact.
A Texas A&M Health story from 2021 found that heavy metal exposure for children playing in rubber mulch is minimal. However, the examination didn't account for other chemicals or for children ingesting rubber pieces. The report encouraged more research.
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Majorly 😥 The chemical 6PPD is also concerning to government experts who said it could wash off roads after wearing from our tires. The runoff could enter waterways and harm wildlife.
Artificial turf is another synthetic field material under scrutiny, potentially linked by a study to cancer cases among Major League Baseball athletes who played on it at Veterans Stadium from 1971 to 2003, per a Philadelphia Inquirer report. Modern versions use crumb rubber.
Those findings bolstered arguments from proponents of natural grass. It's a concept applicable at home, as well.
Rewilding your yard and letting native flowers grow can save you money (no mulch needed), provide beautiful blooms, and help vital pollinators that are important for our food supply. You can start with just one flower bed and expand from there. The National Wildlife Federation has an online tool to help you find the right species for your region.
As for playground mulch, other Instagrammers added some more concerns about having rubber shavings underfoot.
"They smell so bad. What's wrong with grass or wood chips? Rubber playground … new asbestos of our times," one viewer wrote.
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