Synthetic Turf at Mount Vernon

Begin forwarded message:

From: Mary Swan Bell
Date: February 7, 2009 8:28:06 AM PST
To: yasinsac@hudsonvalleyruins.org
Subject: synthetic turf use at historic site

Dear Rob,

Just this morning I ran across the  1/22/09 NYT article on Mount Vernon.  What wonderful work you do!  The preservation of history and our environment is a concern we share.  Also of concern to me is the use of modern synthetic turf and the chemical stew of recycled tire which comprises the "soil" infill.  Below, please find the email address of  Albert Huang of the NRDC, NY branch, who is actively involved in the environmental hazards of synthetic turf.  Also find the site of EHHI (Environment and Human Health, Inc.) out of Yale.  This is a non-profit organization of physicians and scientists dedicated to preserving health.  I believe that these organizations may help you and others in delaying and possibly preserving the Mount Vernon site.

Our local high school district is just completing one of many synthetic fields.  This field will hold 40,000 crushed tires as soil.  That will bring the amount of tires to a staggering 120,000 at one school site.  These are real concerns and ones that are making communities and schools around the country rethink landscape and playing field plans. 

Good Luck!

Mary Bell, MS
Marin County, California


albert Huang

http://www.ehhijournal.org/
http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/

Tests reveal lead in school fields - BOSTON GLOBE

Begin forwarded message:

From: Nancy Alderman
Date: January 19, 2009 8:17:30 AM PST
To: Recipient List Suppressed:;
Subject: In fake grass, some see real threat - Boston Globe


http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/01/19/in_fake_grass_some_see_real_threat/


In fake grass, some see real threat

Tests reveal lead in school fields
BOSTON GLOBE  JANUARY 19, 2009

 The field at Concord-Carlisle High School contained nearly 300 parts per million lead in the Boston Globe-commissioned test.

For two decades, state public health officials have waged a massive campaign to eliminate children's exposure to lead, yet some specialists are concerned that the toxic element may have found its way into schools in the form of artificial turf fields.

While industry officials maintain the fields are safe, the Globe recently commissioned tests of artificial grass at several city and suburban high schools in Massachusetts and found varying amounts of lead in the artificial surfaces.

The fake green grass rolled out in the fall at Concord-Carlisle High School's football field at a cost of $3.8 million tested positive for lead in the Globe's investigation, as did Boston's Saunders Stadium, Lincoln Sudbury High School, and Charlestown High School.

The football field at Concord-Carlisle High contained nearly 300 parts per million lead in the Globe-commissioned test. The US Environmental Protection Agency's standard for bare soil in children's play areas is a maximum of 400 parts per million, though the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has long recommended "the elimination of all nonessential uses of lead" because of the potential health hazards it poses.

Stanley Green, the chief executive of Sprinturf, which manufactured the field, said tests his company commissioned on the Concord-Carlisle field by a lab in Tennessee showed it contained .05 parts per million lead, a much lower level than the Globe-commissioned test.

"We've never had anything in the field that has caused harm to anyone," Green said. "There's never been any incident of anyone getting sick or having ill effects associated with artificial turf fields."

With the increasing popularity of the fields in the professional and collegiate ranks, cities and towns across the state have been building artificial turf fields at a rapid clip, because they are durable and can accommodate nearly year-round athletic activity. But some communities are concerned about the possible health problems the fields pose.

Constructed of plastic and a simulated dirt made of discarded old tires (as many as 10,000 in a single field), some fields contain lead in levels higher than communities anticipated. An artificial turf field in East Harlem, N.Y., was slated for removal last month when local health officials determined it contained 500 parts per million lead.
"There's no safe level of lead; let's be clear on that," said Don Mays, senior director of product safety at the Consumer's Union, publisher of Consumer Reports. The Consumer's Union and the CDC called for additional testing of artificial turf fields after lead levels at two older fields in New Jersey forced their closure in the summer.

"What we've seen is lead creeping back into products we assumed didn't have lead in them," Mays said, "like vinyl products and playing fields."

Problems with lead surfaced last year, when public health workers measuring run-off at a landfill in New Jersey found high lead concentrations in two playing fields nearby. Local officials closed both out of fear that athletes were swallowing or inhaling lead dust emanating from worn plastic grass.

The CDC issued an official health advisory in June saying the "potentially unhealthy levels of lead dust" found on the New Jersey fields raised concern and warranted additional testing. The Consumers Union has also advocated for additional testing of the fields.
For years, the CDC has called lead dust one of the biggest known health hazards to children and has funneled millions into reducing it in the environment. The agency has said that age, weathering, exposure to sunlight, and wear and tear can cause dust to form on older or well-used fields.

"At this time, CDC does not yet understand the potential risks associated with exposure to dust from worn artificial turf," the CDC advisory said. People playing on dusty turf fields should undertake "aggressive hand and body washing" for at least 20 seconds with warm water afterward and launder team uniforms after playing on the fields.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission, the national agency with the power to recall products found to be dangerous or unhealthy, evaluated the artificial turf in the New Jersey fields and found that "young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields." The commission asked artificial turf manufacturers to voluntarily reduce lead in their product. The leading manufacturers agreed to lower lead used to color synthetic turf to 300 parts per million by the year 2011 and to 100 parts per million or less by the year 2012.

Previously constructed fields, however, would not be affected.

Mary Jean Brown, chief of the CDC's lead poisoning prevention branch in Atlanta, said preschool children are most susceptible to lead poisoning. In recent years, the average lead level in youth blood testing has dropped from 17 micrograms per deciliter in the 1970s to a current level of 1.2 micrograms (The CDC considers a blood lead level of 10 to be of concern.)

Brown said high levels of lead in children's blood in the past have been attributed to paint and the use of the element as an additive in gas (which was banned in 1996). Lead in lower levels might exist in artificial turf and could be ingested or inhaled by children, and while not a dire health threat to children or adults alike, precautions should still be taken, she said.

The American Academy of Pediatricians has said there is no safe level of lead exposure and suggests levels no higher than trace amounts - 40 parts per million - in soil.
"We always have to be concerned about new lead added into our environment," said Helen Binns, a member of the academy who specializes in child lead poisoning. "We need to look seriously at the choices that are made and what they would introduce."

Suzanne Condon, Massachusetts associate commissioner for public health, said it's up to local officials to know what's in artificial turf before they buy it. The state has no plans to test fields.

"If you're a parent and you have concerns, you can ask [local officials] what the artificial turf is made of," Condon said.

In Concord, town manager Christopher Whelan said in the fall that he and other local officials relied on information from consultant, John Amato of Westford, before buying and installing a field manufactured by Sprinturf in Wayne, Pa. After questions arose about the fields in New Jersey, which were not manufactured by Sprinturf, Whelan said he questioned Amato about lead in the school's new field.

"We were assured it wasn't an issue," he said.

Amato, a member of the Synthetic Turf Council, an industry group, dismissed concerns about lead in an interview. Synthetic turf is an off-shoot of the carpet industry, and carpeting often contains low levels of lead that cause no public health threat. So do other plastics, such as twisting telephone cords. Any lead found in artificial turf grass is inert and encapsulated in plastic, he said.

"It's not a health risk for children," Amato said of the fields. "These things get blown out of proportion."

The Globe independently tested turf samples from area schools after a Newton activist, Guive Mirfendereski offered test results from the turf that showed lead levels at the high school in excess of 13,000 parts per million in the fall. Sprinturf's chief executive Green then conducted tests, which he says showed negligible traces of lead. Faced with the conflicting information, the Globe sent turf samples to a local lead screener and laboratory for independent testing.

Mirfendereski, a Newton lawyer whose son plays soccer, has been an outspoken opponent of artificial turf fields in Newton and elsewhere, calling them "a point of worry and a matter of public health." He has a blog dedicated to the subject, www.SynTurf.org, and said he has asked the state to test the fields.

The lead dust "ends up in the water and soil [and on children] and that ought to be of concern," Mirfendereski said. "Why does this product get a pass?"

Lead in artificial turf can be avoided without any extra cost, industry specialists said. FieldTurf, the largest artificial turf manufacturer in North America, sells lead-free artificial turf. Darren Gill , a company spokesman, said lead helps brighten a field's colors and that many cities and towns order them because they like to see a sports team logo on the field in as brightly colored colors as possible.

"These are custom-made products," he said. "We offer lead-free fields because customers have concerns."

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.


Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
1191 Ridge Road
North Haven, CT 06473
(phone)   203-248-6582
(fax)        203-288-7571
http://www.ehhi.org


--
Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
1191 Ridge Road
North Haven, CT 06473
(phone)   203-248-6582
(fax)        203-288-7571
http://www.ehhi.org

HAZARDS OF ARTIFICIAL TURF-New Jersey Work Environment Council

http://redstaterebels.org/2008/08/hazards-of-artificial-turf/

HAZARDS OF ARTIFICIAL TURF

Posted by Jeffrey St. Clair on August 14th, 2008

HAZARDS OF ARTIFICIAL TURF

By the New Jersey Work Environment Council

Be Aware of Artificial Turf Hazards



A small but growing number of school districts, municipalities, and
universities in New Jersey are switching from traditional grass
athletic fields to artificial turf. Changed considerably since 1960s
AstroTurf, newer synthetic grass is touted for advantages like shock-
absorption and durability in varied weather conditions. There is no
need for mowing, watering, pesticides, or fertilizer and therefore the
turf is advertised as environmentally friendly. While these advantages
have powerful appeal, synthetic turf comes with an unfortunate host of
established and potential health and environmental risks.

A modern artificial field surface has three layers — drainage, shock
absorbing, and surface. The surface has polyethylene plastic blades
that simulate grass and a several inch layer of “infill” that keeps
the blades upright. The infill varies by manufacturer and may include
ground-up recycled tires, ground-up soles of athletic shoes, silica
sand, and/or new thermoplastic or rubber material. This “crumb rubber”
has been found to contain toxic materials such as:

Toxic metals including zinc, lead, arsenic, cadmium, and chromium
which have many harmful effects on humans and the environment.

** Carcinogens including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

** Latex and other rubbers which can cause allergic reactions.

** Phthalates which have adverse effects on the reproductive organs,
lungs, kidneys and liver.

** Crumb rubber can degrade from weather and microbes, producing new
chemicals.

Toxic components can be breathed in, accidentally ingested, contact
the skin, and leach into surface water and groundwater. Besides
toxicity, other problems with artificial turf include:

** Crumb rubber doesn’t stay in place. It can move around on the field
and sticks to the skin, shoes, and clothing of staff and students who
use the fields. It can end up inside schools, vehicles, and homes.

** Excessive heat. Artificial surfaces are dramatically hotter than
natural grass fields, reaching temperatures up to 150 degrees
Fahrenheit and possibly contributing to burns, dehydration, and heat
exhaustion. They may be too hot to play on at times. Watering cools
them down but they heat back up quickly.

** High cost. Artificial fields cost in the range of one-half to two
million dollars.

** Friction. Some types of artificial turf can cause skin abrasion to
a greater extent than natural grass.

** Sanitation. Dog, goose, and other droppings do not decompose on
artificial turf.

** Maintenance. The crumb rubber may need to be raked to maintain a
uniform depth. Solvents and adhesives may be needed to repair seams.

** Leaves, gum, and other debris need to be regularly removed or they
may clog the drainage system.

** Short Life. Artificial turf has a life expectancy, with proper
maintenance, of five to ten years compared to at least 15 years for
grass fields.

** Disposal. One football field contains approximately 120 tons of
crumb rubber or 26,000 recycled tires. Crumb rubber takes more than 25
years to break down completely.

** Unpleasant odor. The odor is especially a problem in indoor
installations.

** Loss of habitat. Artificial turf does not support birds, animals,
or insects.

** Combustibility. While shredded tires will burn at a much lower rate
than chunk tires, crumb rubber can certainly be made to burn by arson,
producing smoke and toxic air, soil, and water pollutants.

Caution Advised

Although the desire to improve access to sports fields is clearly
well-intentioned, the risks that accompany synthetic turf need to be
carefully considered.

Issues of toxicity, movement, heat, cost, friction, sanitation,
lifespan, maintenance, warranty, disposal costs, odor, loss of
habitat, combustibility, should be thoroughly addressed before any
decision to purchase is made. The community should carefully consider
all the options including natural grass.

There are many manufacturers of artificial turf with different
products and advertising claims. It is reasonable to expect vendors to
identify the chemical ingredients of all turf components and provide a
Material Safety Data Sheet on each component, especially the crumb
rubber. If the crumb rubber is of unknown composition, that should
raise a serious warning.

Tires are known to contain over 60 different substances. Typically,
forty-five percent is vulcanized or cross-linked polymer, forty-five
percent is carbon black, and the rest is dispersing oil, sulfur,
synthetic fibers, pigments, processing chemicals and steel or
fiberglass. Tire manufacturers use a variety of formulation recipes
and Ingredients are often kept secret. Therefore the company that
produces the crumb rubber will most likely have to analyze its
composition on a regular basis to provide accurate information on
ingredients, since different batches can be expected to vary in
content.

When it comes to synthetic turf, the most sensible approach may be to
follow the precautionary principle of assuming something involving
chemicals is hazardous until scientific evidence proves that it is
not. Some public health professionals are calling for a moratorium on
installing any new fields that use ground-up rubber tires until the
hazards are better understood. Some are also recommending that
exposures to already installed fields that contain rubber-tires should
be limited.

For More Information

Synthetic Turf: Health Debate Takes Root, 2008 Environmental Health
Perspectives, published by the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences.

Artificial Turf: Exposures to Ground-Up Rubber Tires, 2007
Environment and Human Health, Inc.

Toxicants in Artificial Turf, 2007 Rachel’s Democracy & Health News
#937 Environmental Research Foundation

(c) 2008 SuperFILL is proudly powered by WordPress

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Eugene District Sues Maker over Artificial Turf Fields. Loss in 'Lift.'

Eugene district sues maker over artificial turf fields.

Publication: The Register-Guard (Eugene, OR)
Date: Wednesday, November 19 2003

Byline: Anne Williams The Register-Guard
The state-of-the-art artificial turf fields at the Eugene School District's four high schools have lost some of their lift - and the district is suing the manufacturer to fix the problem.
In a claim filed in Lane County Circuit Court on
Friday, the district alleges that Georgia-based Avery Sports Turf has violated the terms of its contract by failing to repair the 3-year-old fields, which have flattened substantially over time.

"We're asking that they come in and correct the deficiencies in the fields," said Jon Lauch, the district's assistant director of facilities. He estimated the cost to be as high as $65,000.
After noticing exposed fibers and compaction in the fields, the district had an inspection done last summer, Lauch said. Under the terms of the 10-year warranty, the manufacturer is obliged to repair the fields if the "G-max rating" - a measurement of the field's thickness and resiliency - ever exceeds 125.
In readings taken in various portions of all four fields, the G-max rating often was higher, reaching 160 in some places. "We need to add about an inch of rubber over the entire fields," Lauch said, noting that the level is only about half of what it should be.
Any G-max rating below 200, however, is considered safe for play, Lauch noted.
Lauch said he's made repeated attempts to contact George Avery, the company's owner, but has received only one phone call - and Lauch said that was only after prodding from Pacific Sports Surfaces, the Portland-based company that markets and distributes Avery turf.
In that call, on Aug. 7, Avery apologized and said the company would take care of it, Lauch recalled. But the district hasn't heard a word since, he said - not even in response to letters from legal counsel.
Avery did not return phone calls Tuesday from The Register-Guard.
Lauch said the response is puzzling, given that Avery's pre-paid insurance plan covers such repairs for the first eight years of the 10-year warranty. The insurance carrier also is named in the lawsuit.
Unveiled in the fall of 2000, the polypropylene-fiber and crushed-rubber fields were part of an $8.6 million project that also included youth sports parks at Sheldon and Churchill high schools and Cal Young Middle School. The city of Eugene kicked in $4 million to the project - money earmarked for youth athletic facilities in a November 1998 parks bond measure. A school district bond measure in the same election set aside $3.5 million specifically for the fields.
Brent Walsh, athletic director at Sheldon High School, said he knows of no injuries related to the condition of the fields, and that players and coaches have generally been pleased with them - especially in the rainy season, when a natural-turf field would get waterlogged.
However, he said, players and coaches have noticed increasing unevenness on the surface, as well as ruptured seams.
"There's big waves" along the surface, he said - not good for running athletes or bouncing balls.
Lauch said the district fixes the ruptures as they occur, and that the repairs are holding up well.
As for the unevenness, he said that's probably related more to shifting of the ground beneath the fields than it is to the compaction.
"I gotta say, there are high expectations of these fields," he said. "A lot of people feel like they ought to be perfect, but really, it's just carpet over dirt and rock."
Joe Richards, the district's attorney, said Avery has 30 days from the filing to respond.