Synthetic turf fields are a cause for concern
Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI) is concerned about the new synthetic turf fields that are being installed by schools and towns all over this country. These fields are made of a synthetic grass-like material to which large amounts of recycled ground-up rubber tires have been added as "in-fill." The chemicals released from the ground-up rubber tire "crumbs" as well as its dust pose the greatest health concerns.

EHHI is a 10-member, nonprofit organization composed of physicians, public health professionals and policy experts dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harm through research, education and improving public policy. The new "synthetic turf" fields are not turf in any sense of the word. They are large surfaces, the size of football fields, covered with material derived from grinding up used rubber tires until they are the size of grains of coarse sand. These fields can cost up to $1 million apiece. In terms of weight, there are more than 100 tons of ground-up rubber tire crumbs on each field. There is no barrier between the crumbs and the athletes on the fields. The rubber crumbs are unstable and get into the shoes, stockings, clothing and even the hair and ears of those who play on the fields. Dust particles from these crumbs are easily inhaled.

Numerous studies have been cited in the past to justify the safety of the rubber tire crumbs. However, EHHI members reviewed the findings of many of these studies and consistently found that there would indeed be exposures to the components of the tire crumbs. Many studies found that dust contained carcinogens that could be inhaled into the deepest portions of the lung. Most studies indicated that there were serious limitations to their research due to insufficient safety testing of some of the components released from the tire crumbs.

Norway, Sweden and now Italy have recommended that there be no further construction of fields with rubber tire crumbs. Because of the studies that had been done, EHHI decided to initiate a study, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, to examine whether the tire crumbs out-gassed harmful chemicals into the air or were capable of leaching into ground water. Although many chemicals were found, four compounds were conclusively identified with confirmatory tests. Approximately two dozen other chemicals were indicated at lower levels. The four chemicals found have the following reported actions:

• 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.

People are asked by the synthetic turf manufacturers to assume that the amount of exposures from the rubber crumbs, as well as from the dust, are insufficient to produce any health effect, irrespective of the age of the child or the number of hours, days or years that a person plays on these fields. Those who promote the safety of these fields provide no measurements in which to support these assumptions.

It is clear that children will be exposed to these rubber crumbs, their dusts and their vapors on these fields. A simple exercise in arithmetic will show the scale of the number of children/hours of exposure there would be from one synthetic turf athletic field. Although the health implications at this time are unclear, the evidence is sufficient to create a burden of proof of safety before more fields are installed. At the very least, more testing should be done before any new synthetic turf fields with ground-up rubber tires are installed.

Nancy Alderman is the president of Environment and Human Health Inc., North Haven, Conn.