Young men play basketball on the playground of Baiyunlu campus of the No. 2 Experimental Elementary School in Beijing. (Photo/Beijing News)
(ECNS) -- Beijing Municipal Education Commission announced Monday all new synthetic playgrounds and running tracks under construction or set to be built in the city's primary and middle schools will be suspended until new standards are issued, Xinhua News Agency reported.
The commission will join hands with relevant departments in drawing up new standards for the construction, testing and monitoring of such facilities in schools, it said.
Newly built or renovated synthetic playgrounds and racetracks at some local schools were found to be emitting harmful gases capable of making children sick. Some of the projects had passed tests, but strong smells remained. For instance, the synthetic playground at the Baiyunlu campus of Beijing No 2 Experimental Elementary School had passed checks by the environmental protection authority, while all sampled testings showed it met all national requirements.
The education authority told the schools to give top priority to children's health and address the problem without delay.
