Sanitization of City of Pasadena Parks Completed; Playground Safety Surfacing Replaced

PASADENA, Calif.—The City of Pasadena Parks, Recreation and Community Services (PRCS) Department has completed the process of sanitizing City parks, fields, and playground equipment, along with replacement of sand and engineered wood fiber (safety surfacing) in play areas, following the Eaton Fire. While no specific hazards were identified, PRCS has taken steps out of an abundance of caution to reduce the potential risk of exposure to wildfire contaminants.

At all parks, City staff:

• Sanitized park benches, tables, playground equipment, and poured-in-place rubber playground surfacing (effective February);
• Rinsed the natural turf fields through irrigation and rain (effective February);
• Sanitized synthetic turf fields (effective early March); and
• Replaced the top three inches of sand and engineered wood fiber at all play areas with new sand/fiber (effective late March).

Additional actions taken since the Eaton Fire in January include:

• PRCS staff followed public health guidance for restoring water clarity and chemistry at the Honorable John J. Kennedy Pool. The sides and bottom of the pool were scrubbed clean, pool water was vacuumed, filters were backwashed, and chlorine and pH were reset. On January 18, the pool was reopened.
• All community and recreation centers were cleared. After testing and monitoring air quality, community and recreation centers were reopened on January 14.

PRCS encourages the public to follow public health guidelines for assessing risk of exposure and taking precautions to protect your health when engaging in outdoor activities. Daily air quality information is available on the South Coast Air Quality Management District website.