Blue slides' surfaces may reach 200 degrees, investigators say


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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Dionne Whitehead couldn't bear the screams from her 3-year-old daughter Presley as the child sat at the top of a slide at Mountview Park in Cottonwood Heights.

Whitehead took her children to the popular park on a sunny June day with temperatures hitting the mid-90s. The children played at the splash pad before taking off for the nearby slides with mom right behind them.

"I never thought it would get that hot to where it literally melted her skin: 10 seconds tops she was at that slide," Whitehead told KSL Investigator Debbie Dujanovic.

As her little girl tried to scoot down the tall, blue plastic slide Whitehead knew something was terribly wrong. She ran up the serpentine slide to her daughter.

"I couldn't even touch the slides to get up to her," Whitehead said.

The slide was so hot Whitehead had to balance herself without touching the sides and hand her daughter off to another parent standing below. The child's pediatrician diagnosed Presley with a second-degree burn on the back side of her leg.

On triple-digit days, could you cook breakfast on blue plastic slides?

On clear days, both playgrounds at Mountview Park bake in direct sunlight.

Using a surface thermometer purchased at a home improvement store, KSL Investigators took many temperature readings of the blue slides.

The results ranged from about 155 degrees to almost 200 degrees. Several results showed slide temperatures in the 180-degree range.

Whitehead watched as KSL Investigators measured the temperature on the slide that burned Presley.

On a triple-digit day, the slide measured 199.5 degrees: "That's heartbreaking," Whitehead said.

The theory among parents is the dark blue slide color, and the sun make for a dangerous combination.

"Pretty early in science you learn black absorbs that heat," said Elizabeth Visser. "Even if just changing the slide color, I wonder if that would help."

City and KSL tests show yellow plastic slides much cooler than blue

KSL Investigators tested the temperature of a yellow slide at Mountview Park multiple times. The playground sits in direct sunlight. Temperature readings on the slide ranged from 136 degrees to 145 degrees.

Whitehead placed her hand on the yellow slide and noted that it was so much cooler than the blue slide, and she could keep her hand on it without burning it.

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Cottonwood Heights considers shade solution

Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore told KSL Investigators the city is considering building a shade structure over the play area.

The city's test results put the blue slides at about 160 degrees and the yellow slide about 20 degrees cooler.

"We build parks for kids to have fun, not to put them at risk," Cullimore said.

Cullimore said the city received two formal complaints in the three years Mountview has been open.

After the first complaint, the city installed three warning signs; one at the large playground and two at the small playground.

"Caution, playground equipment can get hot. Adult supervision is recommended for use," the signs state.

But Whitehead says she's not the only parent who's missed the signs. The day Whitehead met KSL Investigators at the park, she said she watched four children get burned while using the slides. She feels the city's warning doesn't go far enough: "It never says play equipment burns," Whitehead said.

The mayor believes the problem happens when young children, still in swimsuits and legs exposed, run from the splash pad and try to go down the hot slides but can't get off.

When asked if the city had to do it again would it have selected a different slide color, Cullimore said the city might.

"Knowing what we know now, maybe make it a different color and make the slides a lighter color."

But he said shading the playground is the only option.

"Really, the slides are the problem at the top or at the bottom," Cullimore said.

Initial estimates suggest a shade structure could cost the city more than $20,000.

Beige, Red, Green: What about other colors?

To find out how hot other slides can get in the summer heat, KSL Investigators visited several parks from Salt Lake City to St. George.

At a public playground in Salt Lake City a beige slide was 162 degrees, a red one 153. At Liberty Park, a dark green slide was 186 degrees.

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KSL Investigators hit a park in Riverton, and under scattered clouds, a green slide measured 153 degrees. A more vibrant-colored green slide just down the road measured 169 degrees.

With outside temperatures of about 105 degrees, KSL Investigators tested slides in the St. George area as well.

A green slide, exposed to the mid-afternoon sun, resulted in a temperature reading of 155 degrees on the part of the slide where children would place their hands.

However, from a shaded yellow slide in Washington County, came our lowest reading yet. The slide registered 104 degrees.

Protecting children

Janet Brooks, community outreach manager at Primary Children's Hospital, said on hot summer days parents should touch the slides first to make sure they're tolerable while keeping in mind a child's skin is more sensitive to heat.

"The dark colors are more obviously going to get hotter," Brooks said.

When installing slides, Brooks recommends choosing a lighter color and pointing it in a north direction so it gets less direct sunlight.

"We really want to avoid slides that face south and west," Brooks added.

But the coolest solution is a slide that sits under shade. At a park in South Salt Lake hang large, colorful shade canopies over dark green slides. Test results averaged 112 degrees when the temperature outside was 101 degrees.

Contributing: Torin Koos

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