Keep Turf Safe

05/27/2017

Crumb Rubber...Is it the new asbestos?

With the RFU reportedly committing £50m to one hundred 3G floodlit pitches for the grassroots game over the next four-years, and the FA similarly beginning the installation of thirty of Greg Dyke’s 3G hubs, Peter Britton questions the morality of these advancements given that scientific studies in t...

02/28/2017

Efforts to remove waste tire materials from playgrounds and fields in Minneapolis are gaining momentum. Parents say excessive exposure to the rubber could be toxic for their children.

02/17/2017

DUTCH UNIVERSITY RESEARCH SHOWS: USE OF RUBBER INFILL FOR ARTIFICIAL GRASS SHOULD BE AVOIDED

"PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
In addition to professor Jacob de Boer of the VU, two more professors of Toxicology argue in favour of the precautionary principle and of refraining from doing sports on rubber infill surfaces."

As opposed to research outcomes recently published by the RIVM, VU University Amsterdam (VU) scientists reached the conclusion that rubber granules in fact release chemicals which may cause harmful effects in humans. Exclusively for ZEMBLA, VU scientists present the results of studies on juvenile ze...

01/28/2017

'We need these comprehensive studies to really give us some answers. We need to know how safe it is for our kids to be playing on these fields.'

More than 50 Washington state soccer players have developed cancer, allegedly stemming from chemicals in the rubber field. Hundreds more around the world claim the same (file image).

01/25/2017

This is what a four month old Field Turf field at an elementary school looks like after some San Diego rain. All that 'Cool Play' (whatever it consists of and it has never been safety tested to be around small children) has floated to the top and towards the storm drains. It was also all over the walkways and made it very slippery for students.

01/24/2017

It’s Time To Ban Artificial Field Turf January 24, 2017 Artificial field turf may initially seem harmless to the naked eye because we are so used it. We associate it with our favorite sports, childhood memories, and being out on the field with our teammates. It never seemed like anything more signif...

01/09/2017

"The readings of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – a group of chemicals usually released from burning coal, wood or in other manufacturing processes – ranged from 1.1 milligrams per kilogram to 15 mg/kg, exceeding permitted limits in consumer products under EU laws by up to 15 times.

Some of the eight restricted PAHs are known probable human carcinogens."

Experts call for temporary closure of pitches or replacement with safer but more expensive material

01/07/2017

"Today (12/30/16) the agencies released a status report describing the progress of the research to date. The status report is available on the EPA’s Tire Crumb website: www.epa.gov/tirecrumb. The status report includes the final peer-reviewed Literature Review and Gaps Analysis report and describes the progress to date on other research activities including tire crumb rubber characterization, exposure characterization and the CPSC playground study. The status report does not include research findings. To date, tire crumb rubber material has been collected from nine tire recycling plants and 40 synthetic turf fields (both indoor and outdoor) from the four U.S. census regions.

Analysis of the tire crumb rubber samples collected from fields and recycling facilities, and the exposure characterization component of the study, will continue in 2017. Parts of the exposure study may be conducted during the hotter months of 2017. The results of the research on synthetic turf fields are anticipated to be available in 2017. The CPSC playground study also will continue in 2017."

166 page PDF of report here
https://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/december-2016-status-report-federal-research-action-plan-recycled-tire-crumb-0

This status report provides a summary of activities to date, including: (1) stakeholder outreach, (2) the tire crumb rubber manufacturing industry, (3) the final peer-reviewed Literature Review/Gaps Analysis (LRGA), (4) progress on the research activities, and (5) next steps and a timeline for compl...

12/14/2016

The dumping of over 40,000 finely ground up toxic tires has happened at my kids school. It's beyond me to understand how our district and SG Principal think this stuff is okay to be around small children and that those on School Site Council voted last spring to put this in...

12/14/2016

Updated Turf Cancer Stats. Soccer goalkeepers have highest rate because they are most in contact with the crumb rubber, just like our small children are at their schools and athletic fields...

Cancers among soccer players who have played on synthetic turf and reported their cancers to U of Washington associate women’s soccer coach Amy Griffin.

12/10/2016

Tens of thousands of finely ground up toxic tires from Field Turf are getting ready to be spread over a plastic rug at Silver Gate. Even with over 200 parent signatures to ask the principal to wait until the federal safety studies are complete, the principal decided this is okay for our young children to be exposed to multiple times a day, many days a week. If this concerns you then please let Principal Fowler and our BOE know. Our children should not be guinea pigs while a product that is already known to have carcinogens is being further investigated. Our children deserve real, non toxic, natural grass, as does our environment. Also, NO environmental impact reports were done for this project or most other turf projects...