Photo Credit: Scott Burton
First published by the American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) nine years ago, a little-known and ill-respected national safety standard addressed playground fencing--the “Standard Safety Performance Specification for Fences/Barriers for Public, Commercial, and Multi-Family Residential Use Outdoor Play Areas,” or #F2049-09b.
Originally called a “Standard Guide,” it was changed this year to a “Standard Safety Performance Specification,” which forces the playground industry to comply with the mandate.
What difference does it make? A huge one. California, for example, has adopted all playground-related ASTM Standards and CPSC Guidelines into law. In short, the purpose of the new standard is to provide for the safety of the occupants in play areas or zones as it pertains to vehicular intrusion, as well as to other participant intrusion (strangers), to contain the children. It provides for better supervision, and keeps children from running into a street, body of water, a set of railroad tracks, etc., that are within 200 feet of the play equipment or its use zones. It also addresses the hazards of fence gate-latches that may cause facial lacerations or impact eye sockets if the latch is too low or is deemed a protrusion hazard.