EHHI's Op-Ed in response to schools and towns installing artificial turf fields that contain ground-up rubber tire in-fill.

Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI) remains concerned about the synthetic turf fields that are being installed by schools and towns all over the United States.

EHHI is a nine-member, nonprofit organization composed of physicians, public health professionals and policy experts dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms through research, education and improving public policy. EHHI is supported by foundations and receives no funding from either businesses or corporations.

When Environment and Human Health, Inc., (EHHI) researched the health issues presented by synthetic turf fields it looked at the ground-up rubber tire in-fill that is a major component of synthetic turf. The in-fill is made of used rubber tires. In some states used rubber tires are considered a "hazardous" waste and in other states they are considered a "special" waste. Tons of ground-up rubber tires are used as "in-fill" in each field.

Lead found in the artificial grass portion of the synthetic fields is also proving to be a problem, as many fields are now showing that the plastic or nylon fake green grass contains lead. When the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC) tested artificial turf, fields, they only tested for lead and they only tested four fields. Not finding lead in their extremely small sampling --- they declared all fields in the United States safe. With over 3000 synthetic turf fields in this country this is hardly a representative study. The CPSC never even looked at the ground-up rubber tire in-fill for all of its health risks--which remain to this day an enormous worry.

When the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station tested the ground-up rubber tire in-fill they found the following five compounds.

COMPOUNDS FOUND

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 in ground-up rubber tire in-fill.

Besides those chemicals, rubber tires often contain:

Benzene: Carcinogen, Developmental Toxicant, Reproductive Toxicant

Phthalates: 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

The heat risk associated with artificial turf is also a major problem in the summer months -- with reports of temperatures reaching above 150 degrees on the fields on many summer days.

Many newspaper articles are reporting an increase of MRSA infections among football players playing on synthetic turf fields.

On August 19, 2008 The Baltimore Sun reported: "I've been in coaching a long time," Morgan State coach Donald Hill said. "I'd seen maybe one or two staph infections (MRSA) in all my time in football. But three years ago, we put down a new synthetic turf on our football field, and we began to have three to four cases a week." That quote was from The Sun's article, "Campaign Steps Up to Bat to Stop Staph Infections," http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/baseball/bal-sp.infection19aug19,0,7336901.story

Saying these fields are safe, without further understanding the potential health risks to students who play on these surfaces, is not a prudent way to spend taxpayers' money.

Nancy Alderman, President
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
http://www.ehhi.org