Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

2-21-2022

Journal

Int J Environ Res Public Health

Volume

19

Issue

4

DOI

10.3390/ijerph19042483

Keywords

activity patterns; artificial turf; micro-level activity time series; playgrounds; recycled tire crumb rubber.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: There are growing health concerns about exposure to toxicants released from recycled tire rubber, which is commonly used in synthetic turf and playground mats. To better estimate children's exposure and risk from recycled tire rubber used in synthetic turf and playground mats, there is a need to collect detailed accurate information on mouthing activity and dermal contact behaviors. The objective of this study was to quantify and analyze micro-level activity time series (MLATS) data from children aged 1-12 years old while playing (non-sport-related games) at turf-like locations and playgrounds. Another objective was to estimate the incidental ingestion rate of rubber crumb among children.

METHODS: Hand and mouth contact frequency, hourly duration, and median contact duration with different objects were calculated for children playing on turf (i.e., parks, lawns, and gardens) (n = 56) and for children playing on playground structures (n = 24). Statistically significant differences between males and females as well as children's age groups were evaluated. The daily incidental ingestion rate of rubber crumb was calculated.

RESULTS: For children playing on turf, there were significant differences between younger (1-6 y) and older (7-12 y) children for the mouthing median duration with non-dietary objects and all objects. For children playing on playground structures, we found significant mouthing frequency differences between younger (1-6 y) and older children (7-12 y) with all objects, and for mouthing median duration with non-dietary objects. There were no significant differences between males and females playing on artificial turf-like surfaces or playground mats. Our estimated mean incidental ingestion rate was 0.08, 0.07, and 0.08 g rubber crumb/day for children

DISCUSSION: our results suggest that age and contact duration should be considered in risk assessment models to evaluate mouthing activities when children are playing on artificial turf surfaces or playground mats.

Comments

Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Peer Reviewed

1

Open Access

1

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