Lead levels high at play areas in Kaiserslautern and Grafenwöhr

[unhappycamper]

Lead levels high at play areas in Kaiserslautern and Grafenwöhr
By John Vandiver, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Thursday, August 14, 2008

BAUMHOLDER, Germany — Artificial turf at a playground at Kaiserslautern’s Kleber Kaserne and a housing area playground in Grafenwöhr tested above recommended levels for lead and have been declared off-limits, Installation Management Command-Europe announced Tuesday.

New material will be installed at Grafenwöhr’s Netzaberg housing area playground, a new facility that is yet to be used. The turf at the Kleber playground, only a section of which is off-limits, also is being replaced, IMCOM-Europe reported.

The only other installation to test above the recommended levels for lead is the child development center playground at Baumholder’s Smith Barracks, a situation which IMCOM-Europe announced last month.

"Wipe samples of portions of the artificial turf at Baumholder and bulk samples from K-Town and Grafenwöhr playgrounds yielded low lead readings that exceeded the recommended Environmental Protection Agency guidelines," IMCOM-Europe reported.

Testing still needs to be conducted at a facility in Ansbach, where results are expected by next week.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56752