The staying power of soft contained playgrounds.

As more and more park and recreation districts invest in Soft Contained Play Equipment, it becomes clear that these indoor and outdoor playgrounds, with their mazes of tunnels; climbers; slides; and moving, jiggling, and twisting components, are here to stay. Even the under-2 set has a safe place to play and socially interact with friends in the smaller units. After the recreation center in Battle Creek, Mich., witnessed the popularity of its indoor unit, it decided to add an outdoor unit this year.

One of the country's newest SCPE playgrounds can be found at the Elk Grove Park District in Illinois. According to Jennifer Menard, marketing manager, the success they've enjoyed from their small SCPE playground has led them to open a larger unit. Children will be charged $2; adults get in free.

One manufacturer has sold more than 50 units to park and recreation departments around the country. Mallard Creek, in Charlotte, N.C., has a new SCPE playground, the fifth such unit in the area surrounding the city.

At the American Society of Testing and Materials, the F15.36 committee has been working on a standard for this equipment for the past five years. The many differences between this equipment and the traditional public playground equipment have made the job more difficult than originally imagined. The new ASTM F1918 standard is titled Safety Performance Specification For Soft Contained Play Equipment. The purpose of having a safety performance specification is to provide safer play experiences for children and to reduce the potential of life-threatening and debilitating injuries.

The Soft Contained Play Equipment committee is headed by Walt Henderson, MaryLou Iverson, and Dr. Frances Wallach. Members of the committee include manufacturers of SCPE and public playground equipment, surfacing company representatives, consultants, and others interested in children's play environments.

Let's look at some of the differences between the ASTM F1487 and F1918 standard, beginning with the definition of Soft Contained Play Equipment: a play structure made up of one or more components where the user enters a fully enclosed play environment that utilizes pliable materials.

The "Materials" section addresses the safety hazards of soft, pliable materials that could not be ingested or inhaled or absorb any potentially hazardous amounts of substance through body surfaces as a result of contact with the equipment.

Fire-safety requirements are necessary for indoor SCPE playgrounds. If a fire were to occur in a playground, it would most likely be detected first through a smoke detector. Emergency lighting and standard exit signage help users evacuate the building once they have exited the equipment. Materials used in creating the playground must be flame-retardant.

A monitor must be able to reach any point within the SCPE area in less than 60 seconds via a predetermined evacuation route. All dead ends must have a cross section of at least 39 inches and should be no longer than 120 inches.

Entrances, exits, transfer points, and platforms should all be accessible. SCPE playgrounds offer wonderful play opportunities for children with all types of disabilities. Some children get tremendous enjoyment from merely sitting in the ball pool, while others can crawl through the playground, making choices regarding which way to go.

Performance requirements and testing procedures for SCPE and public playground equipment are similar. Because much of the material in SCPE is soft, testing is very important; using the probes to the depth limits determines that a child should not be at risk. These tests, performed to determine the risk of head entrapment, must follow the requirements of the F1918 standard. It is important that there are no protrusions or entanglement hazards to injure children or snag their clothing.

Equipment requirements include pneumatic devices. The safety concern here exists in the device coming in contact with a hard surface when fully loaded. Ball pools are a part of this standard. The primary concern is designated play surfaces above the level of the balls where children may be encouraged to jump and land on other users.

The use zones for entrances and exits should be clear of obstacles and surrounded by 5 feet of resilient surfacing. This is in contrast to the 6 feet required on public playgrounds. The exit zones for open slides must meet the requirements of ASTM F1487; requirements for enclosed slides were based on the 10-year history of this equipment, which has not produced significant injuries.

Impact-attenuated surfacing is required in the use zones and must meet ASTM F1292 standards. The fall heights are usually not more than 3 feet. If mats are being used, there must be adequate ramping to prevent tripping.

The "Structural Integrity" section of ASTM F1918 was taken from ASTM F1487-95, as it is relevant to the Soft Contained Play Systems. With the pliable protective barriers, the safety factor is in the test loading, which is directed at the 95th percentile 12-year-old users pushing against or climbing the netting. It also addresses no-climb netting.

The "Maintenance" section describes what the manufacturer must supply to the original owner or operator. It includes maintenance and hygiene instructions for cleaning and sanitizing the equipment. Adhering to these recommendations is critical to the continued life of SCPE playgrounds. It has been discovered that some cleaning solvents -- such as ammonia-based solvents -- are not compatible with the plastics. The manufacturer's operation instructions contain a description of the intended use, maximum-capacity statistics, and recommendations for use relating to environmental conditions.

Recent surveys have shown that units that have received regular maintenance, repair, and cleaning are still in as good as shape as when they were installed. Because these units are modular, certain play components can be changed periodically, keeping the play attractive to the users. When units are not maintained or inspected on a regular basis, accidents do happen. With no maintenance program, vandalism occurs, or wear takes its toll. If these hazards are not kept in check, the potential for accidents is present.

The ASTM F1918 is available from the American Society of Testing and Materials, 100 Barr Harbor Dr., West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959; [phone].

MaryLou Iverson, CLP, CPSI, a risk management consultant on playgrounds, has been a director of parks and recreation for cities and special districts in Oklahoma, Colorado, and Washington. According to Iverson, soft contained play equipment, with its tunnels, climbers, slides, and twisting components, is becoming more and more popular with park and recreation departments across the country.