1. Year “7” and Year “8” Studies Focusing on Mulch

2. Early research has shown that mulches made from recycled dimensional wood can be contaminated with CCA (Townsend et al. 2003). Follow-up study -> Year 7 – South Florida – mulches from stores Year 8 – Rest of Florida – mulches from stores Study to evaluate impact of colorants Mulch – Buffer Materials

3. Gary’s Focus Shiba’s Focus Playground Mulch

4. Mulch made from C&D Wood

8. Mulch Analysis Methods Sample Visual Inspection Size Distribution Ash for Total Metals SPLP Analysis Chemical Analysis Physical Analysis

9. Visual Inspection

10. Objects Found in Mulch  Nails  Plastic  Rubber  Glass  String  Rocks  Etc.

11. Size Distribution  Uniformity Coefficient (UC):  The UC will approach 1 if the pieces of sample are the same size   d 50 : The size in inches that 50% of the sample is finer than

12. Sieve Analysis

13. Results: Visual Inspection  52% are colored mulches  17% mulches contained plywood  73% mulches with plywood are colored

14. Results: Size Distribution  Average d 50 of samples is 0.29 in.  Average Uniformity Coefficient is 5.0 Frequency %

15. Results: Size Distribution

16. Chemical Analysis Sample Visual Inspection Size Distribution Ash for Total Metals SPLP Analysis Chemical Analysis Physical Analysis

17. Analysis Procedure Total Metals Results Leachable Results

18. Methods: Ash for Total Metals

19. Ashed Samples: 58 30 2010325 28 Results: Ash for Total Metals As > 3.7 mg/kg ColoredNot Colored As < 3.7 mg/kg As > 3.7 mg/kgAs < 3.7 mg/kg

20. ColoredPlywood Number of Samples > 3.7 mg/kg Arsenic > 10 mg/kg Arsenic > 50 mg/kg Arsenic > 100 mg/kg Arsenic 2512 % 4 %0 % √2015 % 5 %0 % √3 √√1070 % 30 % Open Bin 367 % Pine Bark 277 % 4 %0 % Results: Ash for Total Metals

23. Concentration Range of Arsenic Samples Frequency %

24. Arsenic vs. Chromium

26. SPLP Results

27. Methods: SPLP Analysis

28. SPLP Samples: 86 45 2916734 41 Mulch SPLP Results Positive for Arsenic ColoredNot Colored Not Positive for Arsenic Positive for ArsenicNot Positive for Arsenic

29. SPLP Table ColoredPlywood Number of Samples > 12  g/L Arsenic > 50  g/L Arsenic > 100  g/L Arsenic 3716 %5 %3 % √3421 %3 % √425 %0 % √√1182 %73 %45 % Open Bin475 % 50 % Pine Bark4522 %4 %0 %

32. Concentration Range of Arsenic Samples Frequency %

33. Arsenic vs. Chromium

36. Conclusion  52% are colored mulches  36% colored mulches positive for arsenic  17% mulches contained plywood  67% mulches with plywood positive for arsenic  73% mulches with plywood were colored  82 % of colored mulches with plywood contained arsenic  44 % of South Florida samples detected positive for arsenic in SPLP analysis  75 % of open bin mulches contained high concentrations of arsenic

37. Conclusion  Engineered wood was found in 21% of consumer mulches  Arsenic was found in 28% consumer mulches  SPLP tested showed that arsenic leached from 27 % of consumer mulches  48% of these samples leached over 50 μg/L

38. Questions?  Report will be available in the next couple of months