A five-part NBC News investigation asked if crumb rubber, the recycled-tire surface used on thousands of U.S. playgrounds and sports fields, posed a health risk to kids, spurring the EPA to drop its public assurances that the surface was safe, prompting a congressman to demand a new federal study, and causing a half dozen local governments to rethink their choice of playing fields. Five stories aired on “Nightly News” and the “Today” show in 2014, all accompanied by on-line text articles.
