Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (2008) 18, 600–607; doi:10.1038/jes.2008.55; published online 27 August 2008
Hazardous chemicals in synthetic turf materials and their bioaccessibility in digestive fluids
Junfeng (jim) Zhanga, In-Kyu Hana,b, Lin Zhanga and William Crainc
aSchool of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA
bJohns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
cThe City College of New York, New York, New York, USA
Correspondence: Dr. Junfeng (Jim) Zhang, UMDNJ-SPH, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA. Tel.: +1 732 235 5405; Fax: +1 732 235 4004; E-mail: jjzhang@eohsi.rutgers.edu
Received 19 July 2008; Accepted 4 August 2008; Published online 27 August 2008.
Many synthetic turf fields consist of not only artificial grass but also rubber granules that are used as infill. The public concerns about toxic chemicals possibly contained in either artificial (polyethylene) grass fibers or rubber granules have been escalating but are based on very limited information available to date. The aim of this research was to obtain data that will help assess potential health risks associated with chemical exposure. In this small-scale study, we collected seven samples of rubber granules and one sample of artificial grass fiber from synthetic turf fields at different ages of the fields. We analyzed these samples to determine the contents (maximum concentrations) of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and several metals (Zn, Cr, As, Cd, and Pb). We also analyzed these samples to determine their bioaccessible fractions of PAHs and metals in synthetic digestive fluids including saliva, gastric fluid, and intestinal fluid through a laboratory simulation technique. Our findings include:
(1) rubber granules often, especially when the synthetic turf fields were newer, contained PAHs at levels above health-based soil standards. The levels of PAHs generally appear to decline as the field ages. However, the decay trend may be complicated by adding new rubber granules to compensate for the loss of the material.
(2) PAHs contained in rubber granules had zero or near-zero bioaccessibility in the synthetic digestive fluids.
(3) The zinc contents were found to far exceed the soil limit.
(4) Except one sample with a moderate lead content of 53 p.p.m., the other samples had relatively low concentrations of lead (3.12–5.76 p.p.m.), according to soil standards. However, 24.7–44.2% of the lead in the rubber granules was bioaccessible in the synthetic gastric fluid.
(5) The artificial grass fiber sample showed a chromium content of 3.93 p.p.m., and 34.6% and 54.0% bioaccessibility of lead in the synthetic gastric and intestinal fluids, respectively.
Keywords: synthetic turf, PAHs, lead, heavy metals, bioaccessibility
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Subject: UTube report on synthetic turf
Subject: UTube report on synthetic turf
To the synthetic turf e-mail list,
For your information - a film on the hazards of synthetic turf.
Click on the blue type and wait for the ad to play and then it will start
http://www.youtube.com/user/pimento3 .
--
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
To the synthetic turf e-mail list,
For your information - a film on the hazards of synthetic turf.
Click on the blue type and wait for the ad to play and then it will start
http://www.youtube.com/user/pimento3 .
--
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
RAISED BILL No. H.B. 5280/S.B 924 AN ACT CONCERNING A MORATORIUM ON ARTIFICIAL TURF PLAYING FIELDS AND THE POSTING OF WARNING SIGNS. In CT.
In Connecticut----
The Bill Number is S.B. 924 AN ACT CONCERNING A MORATORIUM ON STATE FUNDED ARTIFICIAL TURF ATHLETIC FIELDS AND THE POSTING OF SIGNS.
RAISED BILL No. H.B. 5280 AN ACT CONCERNING A MORATORIUM ON ARTIFICIAL TURF PLAYING FIELDS AND THE POSTING OF WARNING SIGNS.
The Bill Number is S.B. 924 AN ACT CONCERNING A MORATORIUM ON STATE FUNDED ARTIFICIAL TURF ATHLETIC FIELDS AND THE POSTING OF SIGNS.
RAISED BILL No. H.B. 5280 AN ACT CONCERNING A MORATORIUM ON ARTIFICIAL TURF PLAYING FIELDS AND THE POSTING OF WARNING SIGNS.
2009-over 1 billion pounds of rubber tire waste to be used in synthetic turf this year!
On Feb 19, 2009, at 9:10 AM, Huang, Albert wrote:
We're still working on the local front here in NYC on getting good legislation passed that would require environmental/health review when selecting, installing, and removing turf. Also want to require monitoring of new and existing turf. Due to our pressure, the NYC Parks Dept is no longer using tire crumb rubber or rubber infill in their turf fields. We're waiting for samplin results from 80 other fields. As you may know, this December, the City shut down a tire crumb field when they found high levels of lead.
Thanks,
Al
From: Mary Swan Bell [mailto:swanbell@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:26 PM
To: Huang, Albert
Subject: Fwd: 2009- over 1 billion pounds of rubber tire waste to be used in synthetic turf this year!
Dear Al,
Knowing that another 124 million square feet of artificial turf to be installed in 2009 is unbelievable. Where is the NRDC on this?
Mary
<1px.gif>
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=302883
TOP STORY
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008
Turf wars rage over fake grass
By Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org Staff Writer
"At the current growth rate, the turf council estimates that more than 124 million square feet of artificial turf will be installed in 2009, as the industry targets athletic fields at the more than 45,000 colleges, high schools and middle schools in the United States. Most of the synthetic turf varieties now being used use crumb-rubber from waste tires, sometimes mixed with sand."
According to fieldturf.com, ten pounds of rubber wasteare in every square foot of synthetic turf. That means a staggering 1,240,000,000 pounds of crushed rubber particulate waste could be placed on playing fields this year alone!
We're still working on the local front here in NYC on getting good legislation passed that would require environmental/health review when selecting, installing, and removing turf. Also want to require monitoring of new and existing turf. Due to our pressure, the NYC Parks Dept is no longer using tire crumb rubber or rubber infill in their turf fields. We're waiting for samplin results from 80 other fields. As you may know, this December, the City shut down a tire crumb field when they found high levels of lead.
Thanks,
Al
From: Mary Swan Bell [mailto:swanbell@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2009 6:26 PM
To: Huang, Albert
Subject: Fwd: 2009- over 1 billion pounds of rubber tire waste to be used in synthetic turf this year!
Dear Al,
Knowing that another 124 million square feet of artificial turf to be installed in 2009 is unbelievable. Where is the NRDC on this?
Mary
<1px.gif>
http://www.stateline.org/live/details/story?contentId=302883
TOP STORY
TUESDAY, APRIL 22, 2008
Turf wars rage over fake grass
By Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org Staff Writer
"At the current growth rate, the turf council estimates that more than 124 million square feet of artificial turf will be installed in 2009, as the industry targets athletic fields at the more than 45,000 colleges, high schools and middle schools in the United States. Most of the synthetic turf varieties now being used use crumb-rubber from waste tires, sometimes mixed with sand."
According to fieldturf.com, ten pounds of rubber wasteare in every square foot of synthetic turf. That means a staggering 1,240,000,000 pounds of crushed rubber particulate waste could be placed on playing fields this year alone!
Turf wars rage over fake grass - Eric Kelderman - stateline.org
| |||||||||||||||||||
| COMMENTS (3) |
|
- Most Recent Comments
- Where Do Old Tires Go? By Patricia Taylor on Apr 23, 2008 9:49:57 PM I am one of the Westport mothers who contacted EHHI last spring about crumb rubber in fields that were being installed in Westport. We're not really a group, just several worried moms. I didn't even meet one of the moms who contacted EHHI until I met her at the EHHI press conference in Hartford in August. The last comment in your article really popped out at me - "Jonathan Levy, a lobbyist for the Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries, Inc., said his group has "grave concerns" about the moratoriums. About 51 million tires annually are used to make crumb rubber for a variety of products including a mulch substitute and an ingredient in asphalt, as well as the synthetic turf, he said. "In the larger environmental picture, if there is nowhere for these tires to go, what do we do with them?" he asked. Since I began reading about rubber tires, recycling of tires, crumb rubber, rubber dust, and synthetic turf fields last spring, I've come to the conclusion (my opinion only) that these fields are nothing more than a waste disposal scheme for old rubber tires, marketed as recreational fields that are safe, non-toxic, and highly desirable to wealthier communities. Mr. Levy comes close to confirming my opinion with his remark. We have no where to put old tires so someone had the idea to grind them up and spread them on school and town fields and let people play on them and or, perhaps worse, to mix them with soil and use them for mulch for lawns, gardens, and farms?! What a terrible idea in terms of our soil, our water, our food, and our human health. As a mother, my common sense tells me that if tires themselves are regulated waste (all states but 8 have restrictions on where you can dump them), and there are laws keeping flammable and toxic materials away from children and their play spaces, that the last place for them to go is where children play! Should we be growing food in stuff that emits chemicals like benzothiazole, butylated hydroxyanisole, n-hexadecane, and 4-(t-octyl) phenol, and high levels of zinc? These are the chemicals the Connecticut Ag Station conclusively identified with confirmatory tests to be coming off crumb rubber in their lab, under conditions that mirrored a typical Connecticut summer day. My hope is that independent scientists will soon test the components of these fields so we know what our kids are playing on, before too many children are exposed for too much longer. In the meantime, as summer nears, in communities all over the country, food is growing in crumb rubber mulch, lawns are being filled and seeded which contain rubber, synthetic turf is being installed and played upon by hundreds of thousands of children. We are all taking part in a great natural experiment. Report as Offensive
Tires become playing fields because it's expedient, not logical. By Stacy Prince on Apr 23, 2008 3:27:14 PM You've hit the nail on the head. This, really, is why these turf fields exist: Low-cost, "recyclable" tires with nowhere to go. To answer Mr. Levy's question: I don't think the answer is to spread the toxicity around and risk adding zinc, lead, and a host of VOCs to playgrounds, playing fields, rivers, streams, and private drinking wells (not to mention people's dryers, when the pellets come home in clothing). More to the point, shredding the tires up to make questionable compounds easier to release is really dumb. Report as Offensive
Not a reasonable solution By Lauren Wohl-Sanchez on Apr 22, 2008 6:51:00 PM Yes, Jonathan Levy, a lobbyist for the waste tire recycling folks wonders whatever will we do with the millions of waste tires? His answer would be to foist them on our kids in the form of crumb rubber infill in artificial turf installed in schools and parks, regardless of whether or not any reputable studies have been conducted to verify that the surfaces pose no threat to their health. It's called the Precautionary Principle: prove that it won't hurt them first and we'll consider buying it, not the other way around. Legislators should do the prudent thing and wait for the data before throwing their support behind this potential land mine. Who will pay to tear up and dispose of all those miillions of yards of artificial turf if the studies suggest harmful exposures? What do we do with the millions of yards of artificial turf with its waste tire infill that will be hitting our landfills in ten years or less? Who will be liable for exposing kids to lead should the CPSC find the concerns warranted? And at a point when nations around the world are working to reduce greenhouse gasses, who in their right mind would stand behind a product that contributes to the urban heat island effect? FInd another solution to the tires that doesn't create more problems than it solves.
FieldTurf" Carpets Country's Schools- Is it Safe for Our Kids and Our Environment?
From Mary Swan Bell---
Begin forwarded message:
From: Mary Swan Bell
Date: February 18, 2009 8:00:50 AM PST
To: oaklandoffice@earthjustice.org
Subject: "FieldTurf" Carpets Country's Schools- Is it Safe for Our Kids and Our Environment?
Dear Earthjustice,
Our local Tamalpais Union High School District is currently placing another FieldTurf synthetic turf field at Sir Francis Drake High, in San Anselmo, Marin County, Ca. http://www.tamdistrict.org/ It is doing so despite the knowledge of the chemical make-up of the infill soil, which is recycled crumb rubber tire waste. There are 40,000 tires per field, a number available on the manufacturer's site, http://www.fieldturf.com/ When completed, there will be approximately 120,000 tires worth of crumb rubber tire waste at that one school. That equals ten pounds of crumb rubber per square foot of field. The high school district has placed these expensive fields at all district high schools for costs well into seven figures.
Special permits are required by California for tire facilities with 500 tires or more! http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Tires/Facilities/ Is a tire not a tire if it's been crushed and placed on the Corte Madera Creek in Marin County, California? When is a tire not a tire? Is it no longer a tire when it is crushed into particulate and placed on a playing fields for the school children and communities of Marin? Are public school and community playing fields built with hundreds of thousands crushed tires which blanket tens of acres of animal habitat and public land, legal? Does the mere conversion of tires into particulate form change their toxicity to the water, soil, and human health?
Drake High is only one of thousands of fields that have been sold to school districts across our country by FieldTurf Tarkett, a company based out of Europe and Canada. With each field costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the profit on these fields is staggering. FieldTurf Tarkett also has a home and business company, http://www.fieldturfgreenscapes.com/, for using this product throughout communities. They report on their website that when building one school play field."FieldTurf. . . removes over 40,000 tires from landfill sites." This seems on first glance to be an altruistic venture, however, on closer study it becomes apparent that this is a matter of pure greed and a profound disregard for the health of our children and the environment we are trying so hard to protect. These fields have been sold as the answer to water shortages, pesticide usage and the maintenance cost of grass fields. Of course these are matters of concern for school districts and communities alike, but to come into schools and communities and present FieldTurf as the answer is a case of despicable marketing. Our children are playing on a surface of rubber tires, a product which normally is placed in toxic waste sites. Tires contain California Prop 65 chemicals, such as benzene, a chemical that requires labelling at gas stations. Tires contain PAHs ,(http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/wastemin/minimize/factshts/pahs.pdf) polycyclic aromatics that are listed as a U.S. E.P.A. TOP 31 PRIORITY CHEMICALS (PCs) to be eliminated from consumer products. http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/wastemin/priority.htm Phthalate, also present in tires, is to be banned from products used by children 12 and under beginning next year. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-19-phthalate-federalban_N.htm And yet, our school district and FieldTurf are putting down another field at our high school, at many schools at this very time!
As a retired Speech and Language Specialist, concerned parent, and community member, I began researching this product last May. Since that time, there has been a question of lead in old synthetic turf. FieldTurf, while it has little or no lead in the "grass blades, " clearly states on their website that they have been given a clean bill of health by the U.S C.P.S. after studies were completed for lead testing. However, testing for the chemical make-up of the crushed rubber particulate infill was never addressed. In an effort to appear safe for all, FieldTurf is now applying for LEED certification. The FieldTurf company, "Greenscapes" appears on the current U.S. EPA website as a new partner in the environmental program of the EPA titled, interestilngly, "GreenScapes".
Below are two letters and one site I would like to share with you. The first letter (1) from Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health Inc.,EHHI, to the U.S Green Building Council in charge of LEED Certification, which clearly lists chemicals present in ground rubber waste particulate. The second (2)is from Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics , Director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City to the Journal News. He clearly cites the three major concerns regarding synthetic turf and the health of children. They are extreme heat, MRSA infections, chemical hazards. The site below (3) is the EHHI ejounal report on rubber crumb waste.
Dear Earthjustice, this is a story which requires true legal investigation. I believe Earthjustice would aid the children of this country if you got to the core of this matter, is this material safe? The effects of these chemicals may not be seen for years, and in that time how many children, athletes, families, flora, fauna, soil and water could be affected by these toxicants?
Please read on. Please refer my concerns to the appropriate Earthjustice attorney. I would be very interested in sharing months of research in this matter.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mary Swan Bell, MS
Marin County, California
415-459-5836
(1)
To the Executive Staff and Board of Directors at the U.S. Green Building Council in charge of LEED Certification,
It has come to the attention of Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) that synthetic turf athletic fields can be part of a "LEED" certification process. If true, this is a shocking revelation. Although recycling is good, certain materials should not be recycled. We should not recycle asbestos, we should not recycle lead or used rubber tires where children play. Recycled used rubber tires make-up then in-fill for most artificial fields.
Leed certification indicates that a building is a "green" building. That means, in part, that it is designed and constructed to promote profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. http://www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/leed.asp
It is hard to claim that artificial turf fields "improve occupant health and well being" when the fields have in-fill made up of ground-up used rubber tires that contain the following chemicals.
Chemicals found by the CT Agricultural Experiment Station in rubber tire "crumbs".
Benzothiazole: Skin and eye irritation, harmful if swallowed. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
Butylated hydroxyanisole: Recognized carcinogen, suspected endocrine toxicant, gastrointestinal toxicant, immunotoxicant (adverse effects on the immune system), neurotoxicant (adverse effects on the nervous system), skin and sense-organ toxicant. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
n-hexadecane: Severe irritant based on human and animal studies. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
4-(t-octyl) phenol: Corrosive and destructive to mucous membranes. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
Zinc: There is a very large amount of zinc that is added in the manufacturing of tires and therefore there is a great deal of zinc. See North Carolina's Department of Agricultural's study on ground up rubber tire mulch - http://www.ncagr.com/agronomi/pdffiles/rubber.pdf
Other chemicals often found in rubber tires:
Benzene Carcinogen, Developmental Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant
Phtalates Suspected Developmental Toxicant, Endocrine Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant
PAHs Suspected Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicant, Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant ,Respiratory Toxicant,
Maganese Gastrointestinal or liver toxicants
Carbon Black Carcinogen
Latex Causes allergic reactions in some people
In some states rubber tires are a "Hazardous Waste" and in other states they are a "Special Waste". Whichever the case - one has to get a permit to dispose of rubber tires and there is a cost associated with that disposal. There is the potential for ground water contamination from the chemicals in the ground up rubber tires.
Field Turf, based in Canada, is one of the major manufacturers of synthetic turf with ground-up rubber tire in-fill. Field Turf is now saying it will help these plastic fields get "LEED" certification. These fields consist of a plastic - like material that is dyed green to look like grass - and then the blades of plastic are filled in with used ground-up rubber tire pellets the size of bread crumbs. The end result is that there are yards and yards of dyed green plastic with literally tons of used rubber tires ground up and sprinkled loose over the green plastic synthetic field.
If all that plastic and all those old used tires sprinkled over acres of land lead to a better environment -- and improve occupant health and well-being - then something is definitely wrong. This looks like one more example of industry - with its clever marketing strategies - taking over well meaning and hard fought for environmental progress and turning it inside out for its own uses.
Can you imagine all that plastic and all those old used rubber tires now being considered "Green"? Below is the paragraph from the Field Turf press release found on the Athletic Turf website. Click the blue type if you want their whole article.
"FieldTurf helps organizations earn the necessary points needed for U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification. FieldTurf's reused rubber content and water use reduction, among other factors, can contribute numerous points towards LEED certification. FieldTurf is also a proud member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenscapes program that aims towards providing cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping."
http://www.athleticturf.net/athleticturf/Artificial+Turf/FieldTurf-trumpets-its-environmental-benefits/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/568972?contextCategoryId=3209
Environment and Human Health, Inc. hopes that you will not allow these fields to be part of "LEED" certification.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. is a nine member, non-profit organization composed of doctors, public health professionals and policy experts. It is dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms through research, education and improving public policy.Its website can be found at http://www.ehhi.org
Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Best,
Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
--
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
(2)
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812110386
The Journal News
The Journal News, is a Gannett Company newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York.
Letter to the Editor * December 11, 2008
Artificial turf fields pose safety issues
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics
I urge the Irvington school district not to adopt the use of artificial turf until further examination.
There are several hundred artificial turf fields on the East Coast. Towns and school districts installed them to improve the quality of playing fields and accommodate sports programs. However, they were pursued without analysis of potential negative consequences. A number of these very expensive fields have been installed and we are suddenly, and belatedly, beginning to realize they may lead to health problems, such as:
1. Extreme heat. On hot summer days, temperatures of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded a few feet above the surface of synthetic turf fields - the altitude where children play. Vigorous play in these conditions conveys a very real risk of heat stress or heat stroke.
2. MRSA skin infections. Outbreaks of skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have been documented in children who play on synthetic turf fields (New England Journal of Medicine, February 2005).
3. Chemical hazards to human health and the environment. Crumb rubber, a major component of current generation synthetic turf fields, is typically made from ground-up recycled tires containing styrene and 1, 3-butadiene, the major constituents of synthetic rubber. Styrene is toxic to the nervous system, and butadiene is a proven human carcinogen.
Lead was recently found in synthetic turf fields in New Jersey at levels so high that several fields were closed by the state Health Department. Citizens and school boards should question the wisdom of installing synthetic turf until a credible independent study has been conducted and published.
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc
Professor and Chairman, Department of Community & Preventive Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Children's Environmental Health Center
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
17 East 102nd Street, Room D3-145
New York, NY 10029-6574
Tel: 212-824-7018
The writer is professor of pediatrics and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
(3) http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/
Begin forwarded message:
From: Mary Swan Bell
Date: February 18, 2009 8:00:50 AM PST
To: oaklandoffice@earthjustice.org
Subject: "FieldTurf" Carpets Country's Schools- Is it Safe for Our Kids and Our Environment?
Dear Earthjustice,
Our local Tamalpais Union High School District is currently placing another FieldTurf synthetic turf field at Sir Francis Drake High, in San Anselmo, Marin County, Ca. http://www.tamdistrict.org/ It is doing so despite the knowledge of the chemical make-up of the infill soil, which is recycled crumb rubber tire waste. There are 40,000 tires per field, a number available on the manufacturer's site, http://www.fieldturf.com/ When completed, there will be approximately 120,000 tires worth of crumb rubber tire waste at that one school. That equals ten pounds of crumb rubber per square foot of field. The high school district has placed these expensive fields at all district high schools for costs well into seven figures.
Special permits are required by California for tire facilities with 500 tires or more! http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/Tires/Facilities/ Is a tire not a tire if it's been crushed and placed on the Corte Madera Creek in Marin County, California? When is a tire not a tire? Is it no longer a tire when it is crushed into particulate and placed on a playing fields for the school children and communities of Marin? Are public school and community playing fields built with hundreds of thousands crushed tires which blanket tens of acres of animal habitat and public land, legal? Does the mere conversion of tires into particulate form change their toxicity to the water, soil, and human health?
Drake High is only one of thousands of fields that have been sold to school districts across our country by FieldTurf Tarkett, a company based out of Europe and Canada. With each field costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, the profit on these fields is staggering. FieldTurf Tarkett also has a home and business company, http://www.fieldturfgreenscapes.com/, for using this product throughout communities. They report on their website that when building one school play field."FieldTurf. . . removes over 40,000 tires from landfill sites." This seems on first glance to be an altruistic venture, however, on closer study it becomes apparent that this is a matter of pure greed and a profound disregard for the health of our children and the environment we are trying so hard to protect. These fields have been sold as the answer to water shortages, pesticide usage and the maintenance cost of grass fields. Of course these are matters of concern for school districts and communities alike, but to come into schools and communities and present FieldTurf as the answer is a case of despicable marketing. Our children are playing on a surface of rubber tires, a product which normally is placed in toxic waste sites. Tires contain California Prop 65 chemicals, such as benzene, a chemical that requires labelling at gas stations. Tires contain PAHs ,(http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/wastemin/minimize/factshts/pahs.pdf) polycyclic aromatics that are listed as a U.S. E.P.A. TOP 31 PRIORITY CHEMICALS (PCs) to be eliminated from consumer products. http://www.epa.gov/osw/hazard/wastemin/priority.htm Phthalate, also present in tires, is to be banned from products used by children 12 and under beginning next year. http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-11-19-phthalate-federalban_N.htm And yet, our school district and FieldTurf are putting down another field at our high school, at many schools at this very time!
As a retired Speech and Language Specialist, concerned parent, and community member, I began researching this product last May. Since that time, there has been a question of lead in old synthetic turf. FieldTurf, while it has little or no lead in the "grass blades, " clearly states on their website that they have been given a clean bill of health by the U.S C.P.S. after studies were completed for lead testing. However, testing for the chemical make-up of the crushed rubber particulate infill was never addressed. In an effort to appear safe for all, FieldTurf is now applying for LEED certification. The FieldTurf company, "Greenscapes" appears on the current U.S. EPA website as a new partner in the environmental program of the EPA titled, interestilngly, "GreenScapes".
Below are two letters and one site I would like to share with you. The first letter (1) from Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health Inc.,EHHI, to the U.S Green Building Council in charge of LEED Certification, which clearly lists chemicals present in ground rubber waste particulate. The second (2)is from Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics , Director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City to the Journal News. He clearly cites the three major concerns regarding synthetic turf and the health of children. They are extreme heat, MRSA infections, chemical hazards. The site below (3) is the EHHI ejounal report on rubber crumb waste.
Dear Earthjustice, this is a story which requires true legal investigation. I believe Earthjustice would aid the children of this country if you got to the core of this matter, is this material safe? The effects of these chemicals may not be seen for years, and in that time how many children, athletes, families, flora, fauna, soil and water could be affected by these toxicants?
Please read on. Please refer my concerns to the appropriate Earthjustice attorney. I would be very interested in sharing months of research in this matter.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mary Swan Bell, MS
Marin County, California
415-459-5836
(1)
To the Executive Staff and Board of Directors at the U.S. Green Building Council in charge of LEED Certification,
It has come to the attention of Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) that synthetic turf athletic fields can be part of a "LEED" certification process. If true, this is a shocking revelation. Although recycling is good, certain materials should not be recycled. We should not recycle asbestos, we should not recycle lead or used rubber tires where children play. Recycled used rubber tires make-up then in-fill for most artificial fields.
Leed certification indicates that a building is a "green" building. That means, in part, that it is designed and constructed to promote profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. http://www.nrdc.org/buildinggreen/leed.asp
It is hard to claim that artificial turf fields "improve occupant health and well being" when the fields have in-fill made up of ground-up used rubber tires that contain the following chemicals.
Chemicals found by the CT Agricultural Experiment Station in rubber tire "crumbs".
Benzothiazole: Skin and eye irritation, harmful if swallowed. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
Butylated hydroxyanisole: Recognized carcinogen, suspected endocrine toxicant, gastrointestinal toxicant, immunotoxicant (adverse effects on the immune system), neurotoxicant (adverse effects on the nervous system), skin and sense-organ toxicant. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
n-hexadecane: Severe irritant based on human and animal studies. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
4-(t-octyl) phenol: Corrosive and destructive to mucous membranes. There is no available data on cancer, mutagenic toxicity, teratogenic toxicity, or developmental toxicity.
Zinc: There is a very large amount of zinc that is added in the manufacturing of tires and therefore there is a great deal of zinc. See North Carolina's Department of Agricultural's study on ground up rubber tire mulch - http://www.ncagr.com/agronomi/pdffiles/rubber.pdf
Other chemicals often found in rubber tires:
Benzene Carcinogen, Developmental Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant
Phtalates Suspected Developmental Toxicant, Endocrine Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant
PAHs Suspected Cardiovascular or Blood Toxicant, Gastrointestinal or Liver Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant ,Respiratory Toxicant,
Maganese Gastrointestinal or liver toxicants
Carbon Black Carcinogen
Latex Causes allergic reactions in some people
In some states rubber tires are a "Hazardous Waste" and in other states they are a "Special Waste". Whichever the case - one has to get a permit to dispose of rubber tires and there is a cost associated with that disposal. There is the potential for ground water contamination from the chemicals in the ground up rubber tires.
Field Turf, based in Canada, is one of the major manufacturers of synthetic turf with ground-up rubber tire in-fill. Field Turf is now saying it will help these plastic fields get "LEED" certification. These fields consist of a plastic - like material that is dyed green to look like grass - and then the blades of plastic are filled in with used ground-up rubber tire pellets the size of bread crumbs. The end result is that there are yards and yards of dyed green plastic with literally tons of used rubber tires ground up and sprinkled loose over the green plastic synthetic field.
If all that plastic and all those old used tires sprinkled over acres of land lead to a better environment -- and improve occupant health and well-being - then something is definitely wrong. This looks like one more example of industry - with its clever marketing strategies - taking over well meaning and hard fought for environmental progress and turning it inside out for its own uses.
Can you imagine all that plastic and all those old used rubber tires now being considered "Green"? Below is the paragraph from the Field Turf press release found on the Athletic Turf website. Click the blue type if you want their whole article.
"FieldTurf helps organizations earn the necessary points needed for U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification. FieldTurf's reused rubber content and water use reduction, among other factors, can contribute numerous points towards LEED certification. FieldTurf is also a proud member of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Greenscapes program that aims towards providing cost-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for landscaping."
http://www.athleticturf.net/athleticturf/Artificial+Turf/FieldTurf-trumpets-its-environmental-benefits/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/568972?contextCategoryId=3209
Environment and Human Health, Inc. hopes that you will not allow these fields to be part of "LEED" certification.
Environment and Human Health, Inc. is a nine member, non-profit organization composed of doctors, public health professionals and policy experts. It is dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms through research, education and improving public policy.Its website can be found at http://www.ehhi.org
Thank you for your attention to this issue.
Best,
Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
--
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
(2)
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008812110386
The Journal News
The Journal News, is a Gannett Company newspaper serving Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties in New York.
Letter to the Editor * December 11, 2008
Artificial turf fields pose safety issues
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics
I urge the Irvington school district not to adopt the use of artificial turf until further examination.
There are several hundred artificial turf fields on the East Coast. Towns and school districts installed them to improve the quality of playing fields and accommodate sports programs. However, they were pursued without analysis of potential negative consequences. A number of these very expensive fields have been installed and we are suddenly, and belatedly, beginning to realize they may lead to health problems, such as:
1. Extreme heat. On hot summer days, temperatures of over 130 degrees Fahrenheit have been recorded a few feet above the surface of synthetic turf fields - the altitude where children play. Vigorous play in these conditions conveys a very real risk of heat stress or heat stroke.
2. MRSA skin infections. Outbreaks of skin infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus have been documented in children who play on synthetic turf fields (New England Journal of Medicine, February 2005).
3. Chemical hazards to human health and the environment. Crumb rubber, a major component of current generation synthetic turf fields, is typically made from ground-up recycled tires containing styrene and 1, 3-butadiene, the major constituents of synthetic rubber. Styrene is toxic to the nervous system, and butadiene is a proven human carcinogen.
Lead was recently found in synthetic turf fields in New Jersey at levels so high that several fields were closed by the state Health Department. Citizens and school boards should question the wisdom of installing synthetic turf until a credible independent study has been conducted and published.
Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc
Professor and Chairman, Department of Community & Preventive Medicine
Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Children's Environmental Health Center
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
17 East 102nd Street, Room D3-145
New York, NY 10029-6574
Tel: 212-824-7018
The writer is professor of pediatrics and director of the Children's Environmental Health Center at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
(3) http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)