crumb rubber infill
California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Review Verifies Safety of Synthetic Turf
Issued Friday, October 30, 2009, Toxic Treadmill
/PRNewswire/ — Representing the latest convincing data on the safety of synthetic turf, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), California Environmental Protection Agency, released a report last week dated July 2009 which indicated there is a negligible human health risk from inhaling the air above synthetic turf. The OEHHA summary also stated “it is unlikely that the new generation of artificial turf is itself a source of MRSA.”
OEHHA searched the available literature related to the safety of new generation artificial turf fields, those which contained crumb rubber infill. They analyzed whether these fields emitted levels of chemicals or particulates into the air that are a health risk when inhaled, and also any potential risk factors for MRSA infection. Based on the data from two 2009 New York studies and a 2006 report of indoor fields, they found that “Both reports concluded that these fields did not constitute a serious public health concern, since cancer or non-cancer health effects were unlikely to result from these low-level exposures.” Other key findings included:
– Analyzing the chemicals detected above the fields in New York, OEHHA noted that “many of these occurred at similar concentrations in the air sampled upwind of the fields” – which suggests that the source of these chemicals was not from the turf fields.
– Cancer risks are negligible, lower than many common human activities. OEHHA created a test scenario to determine the exposure and health risks of an athlete playing on an artificial turf field from age five until age 55 for nearly 100 chemicals. The results showed an exposure to five chemicals with a lifetime cancer risk above one in one million, which is considered a negligible risk. As OEHHA explains “these estimated risks are low compared to many common human activities.” To give context, their website states that the cancer risk of breathing California air (in 2000) due to diesel particles was 540 in one million.
– Synthetic turf is not a source of MRSA. OEHHA stated that “It seems unlikely that the new generation of artificial turf is itself a source of MRSA, since MRSA has not been detected in any artificial turf field.” That conclusion is consistent with the findings of the Penn State January 2009 study conducted on the lifespan of staph on grass and synthetic turf, which was sponsored by the STC and the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council.
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Independent Tests Show No Health Concerns from Crumb Rubber Infill
Issued by Synthetic Turf Council – June 2009
(New York, NY) – In response to the public’s desire for more scientific data, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Department of Health (DOH) released a new study on May 29 which validated the safety of synthetic turf fields with crumb rubber infill. The findings, available at http://www.dec.ny.gov/chemical/46856.html, concluded that “crumb rubber material used in synthetic turf fields poses no significant environmental threat to air or water quality and poses no significant health concerns.”
“This report provides compelling new scientific evidence about the safety of synthetic turf that should help answer the responsible questions being asked by parents, legislators and community activists,” said Rick Doyle, President of the Synthetic Turf Council. “Increased playability, safety, low maintenance and significant environmental benefits have made synthetic turf an increasingly popular option.”
The New York State DEC and DOH conducted a series of studies to collect laboratory and field sampling data to “assess the potential impact to both surface and ground waters due to leaching of chemicals, assess potential public health impact from air release of chemicals and evaluate surface temperature and indicators of heat stress.” Other recent findings verifying the safety of synthetic turf with crumb rubber infill include a March 2009 air quality study by the NY City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) and a May 2008 independent review of available research commissioned by DOHMH into the potential exposures and health effects due to inhalation, ingestion, and dermal absorption. These documents and more are available at - http://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=1&subarticlenbr=91.
In July 2008, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Staff report also concluded that ‘young children are not at risk from exposure to lead [used in certain pigments to color synthetic turf fibers] in these fields.’” To further the long-term objectives of the Environmental Protection Agency, CPSC, and Centers for Disease Control to eliminate the use of lead in all products where feasible, the Synthetic Turf Council announced in July 2008 its commitment to voluntarily reduce lead levels in accordance with the same strict standards that Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 imposes on the children’s toy industry.
Synthetic turf fields are affording millions of children and people of all ages the opportunity to be active year-round and in virtually all weather conditions. About half of all NFL teams currently play their games on synthetic turf, and it has been approved by FIFA for World Cup soccer matches. In 2008, growth in all sectors of the industry — sports fields, landscape, golf, municipal parks, and airports – also helped conserve billions of gallons of water, avoid the use of millions of pounds of pesticides and fertilizers, and recycle 25 million used tires that would otherwise end up in landfills.
Act Global Sports is a proud member of the Synthetic Turf Council.
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