Fake turf has real concerns behind it

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Fake turf has real concerns behind it

_http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/125928.html_

(http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/125928.html)

 

 

By MICHELLE J. LEE

Published: Monday, April 07, 2008

 

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Supporters of artificial turf say it is more durable.

Staff Photo by Anthony Smedile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some people are calling foul on artificial sports fields.

AstroTurf became a household name when it was installed at the Houston

Astrodome in 1966. While early turfs had a reputation for being hard, fields

developed after the 1990s are made with layers of sand and rubber instead of

concrete, said Shira Miller, a spokeswoman for the Synthetic Turf Council, an

Atlanta-based nonprofit trade group.

Yet across New Jersey, dozens of schools and towns that have or are

installing synthetic fields are being met with opposition.

Advocates of the fields say they are preferable because they can be used by

multiple teams, while environmentalists and residents fear the recycled

rubber tires and chemicals used could cause health problems and hurt the

ecosystem.

A proposal in Evesham Township, Burlington County, that would have spent

$3.1 million on artificial fields at Memorial Park and Cherokee Regional High

drew protests in February and March on the basis of environmental and

open-space issues, sparking a petition with more than 2,500 signatures and a

lawsuit

over funding.

The Township Council rescinded the proposal for the high school, but it

still seeks to use open-space tax funds to build in Memorial Park.

Blogger Karen Borden, a mother of two, part-time nurse and protest organizer

expressed concerned that chemicals in the fields could lead to children's

respiratory problems and improper drainage could lead to water contamination.

" People didn't believe asbestos was a problem. People didn't think lead

paint was a problem. And those things don't come to light until years later, "

she

said. " I believe precaution is necessary. "

But Evesham Township Mayor Randy Brown, a national and college football

consultant, disagreed with Borden, saying artificial fields are safe and

provide

better footing than grass, which can have holes, mud and ruts. Brown said the

township's demand for sports is high and the recreation fields are overused.

 

Half of professional football teams and hundreds of colleges use synthetic

turf, Brown said, " You're paying millions of dollars in athletic scholarships.

You don't want an athlete to get hurt from stepping on a field. "

Research supports both sides.

Environment and Human Health Inc., a Connecticut-based nonprofit, found four

compounds that can cause skin and eye irritation and be harmful to the

immune and nervous systems in a study of the rubber particles, also called

" crumbs " , that make up synthetic fields. On the other hand, a study of rubber

playgrounds done by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard

Assessment, found low health risks if children swallow the rubber, and no skin

sensitivity issues.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection reviewed research in

June and did not find significant impacts. Department spokeswoman Karen

Hershey said the DEP does not have an official policy on artificial turfs and

will

" continue to take a careful look at the issue. "

St. Augustine Prep School in the Richland section, of Buena Vista Township,

is the only school where in southern New Jersey to have an sports field of

artificial turf.

Tony Iaconelli, St. Augustine athletic director, said environmental concerns

never came up when the school installed the field in 2005 and it hasn't

caused health problems for any students.

Iaconelli said the field is used year-round and other school districts and

sports groups call him to find out more information about it. " It's a

zero-maintenance situation. It's lined permanently for football and soccer.

(We) line

it once or twice each spring for lacrosse, " he said. " You can play soccer at

four, football at seven. The field is not going to get torn up or destroyed

by the weather. "

Other school districts considering artificial fields include Bridgeton High

School, which plans to renovate the 67-year-old football stadium, and Egg

Harbor Township, which conducted a feasibility study for the high school.

Joe Blandino, the Bridgeton High School athletic director, said the district

raised about $1.3 million for the stadium and the only questions raised

about the artificial field were injuries that might occur on it. But Blandino

said he and the school district will look into the health and injury concerns

before signing any contracts. Egg Harbor Township Superintendent Philip Heery

said his district will also research the issue before making any formal

decisions.

Miller, the spokeswoman for the Synthetic Turf Council, said there are no

health risks with the fields and no state or federal governments have banned

them. She said the fields can actually help the environment because they

recycle millions of tires each year and do not require water or fertilizer.

Yet Senn of the New Jersey Work Environment Council was concerned

there are no federal or state guidelines on the fields.

" You have this 'crumb' rubber spread all over the environment and it doesn't

stay in one place. It migrates on and off the field, goes into drainage

water, ends up in people's cars and homes, " she said. " It's alarming that this

stuff is everywhere. "

The council estimated about 800 artificial fields are installed each year in

the United States and Canada.

" There's a reason why synthetic turf is still popular ... increased player

safety, playability, " Miller said.

Last month, however, state Sen. Gerald Cardinale and Assemblyman John

Rooney, both R-Bergen, introduced twin bills proposing a moratorium on

synthetic

turf fields pending a comprehensive public health study. Connecticut's state

Senate is reviewing a bill to spend $250,000 for a toxicity report on

artificial turfs, and state legislatures in California, Minnesota and New York

proposed bills to ban artificial turf sports fields.

To e-mail Michelle Lee at The Press:

_MLee_

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TO LEARN MORE

To read the state Department of Environmental Protection's review of

artificial turf, visit

_www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/research/whitepaper%20-%20rubber.pdf_

(http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/research/whitepaper%20-%20rubber.pdf)

To read the state legislature bills A2512 and S1549 proposing a moratorium

on synthetic turf pending a healthy study, visit _www.njleg.state.nj.us_

(http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/)

To learn more about the Environment and Human Health Inc. and read their

artificial turf field report, visit _www.ehhi.org_ (http://www.ehhi.org/)

To learn more about the Synthetic Turf Council, visit

_www.syntheticturfcouncil.org_ (http://www.syntheticturfcouncil.org/)