Baumholder playground shuttered over lead concerns

[unhappycamper]

Source: Stars and Stripes

Baumholder playground shuttered over lead concerns
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Saturday, August 2, 2008

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — A Baumholder playground has been declared off limits after artificial turf at the site tested above the recommended permissible level for lead, Installation Management Commnad-Europe said Friday.

IMCOM-Europe recently ordered lead testing on artificial turf fields and playgrounds at U.S. Army garrisons across Europe, based upon a recent health advisory from the Centers for Disease Control.

So far, the Smith Barracks Child Development Center playground in Baumholder is the only facility to exceed the recommendation that lead levels not exceed 47 micrograms per-square foot. Two samples from the playground registered a lead count of 56 and 148 micrograms per square foot, according to IMCOM-Europe.

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In June, three athletic fields at bases in South Korea were closed because of similar concerns.

Read more: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56526