Daegu Nambu Office of Education "Let's Play on Eco-Friendly Sports Fields" ... Urethane Replaced at 26 Schools

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Jae-ho] Daegu Nambu Office of Education announced on the 11th that it has completed the replacement of urethane playgrounds containing harmful substances with eco-friendly playgrounds at 26 schools in the district by allocating a total project cost of about 2.65 billion won starting from July this year.

According to the Nambu Office of Education, from July 2019, a full inspection for harmful substances was conducted over two months based on the revised KS standards. Among 105 elementary, middle, and high schools in the district, 26 schools detected levels of environmental hormones (phthalates) exceeding the standard limits.

Phthalates are chemical substances used to soften plastics and are harmful substances that can generate carcinogens when they enter children's bodies.

Accordingly, the Nambu Office of Education completely removed the urethane from playgrounds that threatened the health of students and nearby residents and replaced them with masato (red clay) playgrounds free from harmful substances.

Masato playgrounds have excellent drainage, allowing year-round use for various sports, and parents respond positively because students can play barefoot on the soil.

The Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education conducts regular investigations every three years, including harmful substance inspections of school playgrounds, in accordance with the Korean Industrial Standards (KS) through basic policies for creating eco-friendly playgrounds.

A representative of the Nambu Office of Education said, "With this masato playground replacement project, playgrounds where harmful substances were detected have been completely replaced with eco-friendly facilities," adding, "As students have been more withdrawn due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, we hope they can freely run and play in safe eco-friendly playgrounds and nurture their dreams and talents."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.