A concerned Redditor shared a startling photo of a children's playground. To the Redditor's dismay, the playground was made out of a hazardous material.
"The soft ground at the park is made up of what looks like recycled soles of shoes," wrote the original poster.
Redditors noted that the material wasn't actually recycled shoe soles but something much worse.
"Shredded tires," responded one user. "Don't let your kids eat it."
"I hated my kid's school playgrounds because of this stuff," commented another Redditor. "It smells like death. If you look into tire pollution, they say they're creating all these toxic gases."
What's more, the pieces of tire were broken into tiny fragments, making the playground a potential choking hazard if children happened to put the pieces in their mouths.
Unfortunately, across the U.S., recycled tire pieces have become a common material used in children's playgrounds. However, tires contain a variety of toxic chemicals that pose numerous health risks.
According to the Guardian, recycled tires can contain heavy metals, including lead and manganese, as well as volatile organic compounds, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. At certain exposure levels, these chemicals are associated with severe health complications, including different types of cancer.
Furthermore, those toxic chemicals can leach into the soil, releasing harmful microplastics into the surrounding environment. As a result, for the health of children and the planet, it's best to use natural materials, like wood mulch or grass, when building outdoor play areas.
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Redditors continued to discuss the toxic playground material.
"When it rains, it leaches chemicals into the runoff too!" responded one user.
"They're also one of the largest sources of microplastics," wrote another Redditor. "Tire consumption is just one of the many reasons why we have to improve our city planning to dramatically cut back on car use."
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