A recall by an American Playground manufacturer, Playworld, has forced playgrounds across North America to remove slides that pose an amputation risk.
The city of Calgary told Global News they first started to remove the 55 problem-slides under their jurisdiction in January, after getting notice from the manufacturer in December 2016. By April the city had replaced the recalled slides with plywood as they await the replacement pieces to come in from Pennsylvania.
Karen Ryhorchuk with the Catholic School Board told Global News they removed their 25 Playworld slides immediately and replaced them with the barrier provided by the company.
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“That was done to ensure that kids could still use the structure. It’s safe.”
The Calgary Board of Education said they have identified 20 Playworld slides that need to be replaced, but could not confirm whether the slides have been removed, or which schools have playgrounds affected by the recall.
According to the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission about 1,300 slides have been affected by the recall.
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Matthew Blair with the city of Calgary told Global News Playworld is shipping out 25 new slides per week, and the city expects 50 per cent of those slides will come to Alberta to be shared between the municipalites. Blair expects the city playgrounds will start to replace two to three new slides per week starting in July, and finishing by the end of the 2017.
According to the Government of Canada’s recall website there have not been any amputation incidents in Canada.
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