PROPOSED FOR USE ON NEW PLAYING FIELDS ALONG MILESTONE ROAD, ARTIFICIAL TURF IS GETTING A BAD RAP THESE DAYS. YET, THERE MAY BE GOOD REASON WHY SO MANY PEOPLE ARE ...
TAKING SYNTHETIC TURF TO TASK
BY PETER B. BRACE INDEPENDENT WRITER

Toxic chemical-laden shredded tires that are planned for use in two synthetic turf playing fields at 81 Milestone Road forced the cancellation of a similar project in Fairfield, Conn. earlier this month. And in New York, state legislators are today considering a temporary moratorium on the sale and installation of such turf because "a comprehensive public health study on the potential threats associated with the use of synthetic turf is warranted."

The contentious material is known as crumb rubber. It is processed from used tires into coarse sand sized granules and contains volatile organic compounds including arsenic, acetone, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, vanadium, lead and zinc. It is suspected of providing habitat for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

Fairfield resident Stephanie Thompson successfully thwarted the installation of such a field planned for the Fairfield Country Day School, convincing the town's conservation commission of the potentially harmful effects of crumb rubber ingredients leaching into local water supplies and releasing toxic gases in high heat conditions.

"It would be crazy to do this, because you're really gambling with the health of the children," said Thompson. "I understand that sports are important, but you really don't want to gamble with the health of your children."

The State of New York is taking Thompson's victory several steps further by working on legislation that would impose a temporary moratorium on the use of crumb rubber in athletic fields until comprehensive studies prove the material harmless.

Nantucket's Park & Recreation Department believes crumb rubber to be safe enough for use on two fields within the wellhead recharge zone and the Nantucket Harbor Watershed District. It is in the process of trying to secure funding for the $4.3 million project, which would also include two natural turf fields.

Park & Recreation Property Manager Charles Bartlett said crumb rubber is the artificial turf industry standard for infill, and believes there are no dangers in using it.

"This is what I've been seeing, and I've been going to different seminars on this for years. Everybody says there are no harmful effects," said Bartlett.

A recently released two-year study performed by France's Agency for Environment and Energy Management revealed that crumb rubber had no impact on the environment, and that it released very low levels of gas.

But, according to another study done this year by Environment & Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) of North Haven, Conn., similar chemicals found in crumb rubber were found in ground water near used tire dumps, and there is the potential for some serious health issues.

"Health endpoints of concern are numerous, including acute irritation of the lungs, skin and eyes, chronic irritation of the lungs, skin and eyes." said EHHI in its conclusions. "Knowledge is somewhat limited about the effects of semi-volatile chemicals on the kidney, endocrine system, nervous system, cardiovascular system, immune system, developmental effects and the potential to induce cancers."

PLASTIC GRASS, RUBBER DIRT

Thompson's crusade against recycled used tires is aimed specifically at the crumb rubber that artificial turf installers such as FieldTurf of Portland, Maine, processes. FieldTurf is Nantucket's intended contractor. The company cuts the rubber granules with sand, spreading the mixture on the fake field of green polyethylene fibers as infill to provide a cushioning surface for athletes.

Originally, Thompson did not like the idea of a seeing a bright green field during the winter when all other vegetation lay dormant and brown.

But digging deeper, she found that the chemicals used in the making of the tires can leach through the perforated synthetic grass matting and into ground water. She took up her cause to prevent toxic runoff from entering the nearby Brown Brook watershed.

Thompson also railed against the potential off-gassing of these chemicals from the crumb rubber that can occur as the sun heats up the field, sometimes to temperatures 60 degrees more than natural fields, said Thompson.

"All I want people to think about is, logically, you know the product is caustic, so it's not logical that all the dangerous chemicals of it are going to disappear," she said. "When you expose grammar-age school kids to it, it can affect them."

Through Thompson's efforts and those of two local opposition groups - Preserve Our Districts and Fairfielders Protecting Land and Neighborhoods - the Fairfield Conservation Commission voted 4-1 on Nov. 6 to deny Fairfield Country Day School's bid to build an artificial turf field.

Seeing what he believed to be health emergency writing on the wall, New York State Assemblyman Steven Englebright, (D)-Setauket, introduced a bill on Oct. 23 to the New York State Assembly requesting a six-month moratorium on the use of crumb rubber in artificial fields. Englebright wants the time for studies to be performed to determine whether crumb rubber is safe to use on fields.

"The legislature finds that more information is necessary to make an informed decision on the appropriate uses of synthetic turf containing crumb rubber," reads part of this bill's language. "In the interest of preventing adverse health impacts and contamination to natural resources, the legislature finds that a comprehensive public health study on the potential threats associated with the use of synthetic turf is warranted."

NANTUCKET'S NEEDS

All of Nantucket's outdoor playing surfaces are natural, so the topic of artificial turf never arose until the Park & Recreation Department began turning groups away that wanted to use its fields. Nantucket's proposed use of crumb rubber in its two artificial playing fields is out of necessity. Simply put, the island's existing playing fields cannot handle their ever-burgeoning uses.

So, two artificial fields that can be used year-round with no time out for reconditioning, and that are made of industry-standard artificial turf materials, is the best choice, said Bartlett.

The project, planned for 18 of 31.3 acres at 81 Milestone Road, includes four playing fields, two natural and two artificial. The plan includes bathrooms and approximately 130 parking spaces. It is vital, Park & Recreation believes, to the island's ball sport needs because every three years natural fields need to lie fallow for one year and be aerated and reseeded, said Bartlett.

Adding these four additional playing fields to those already in place in Tom Nevers, the Delta fields and at the public schools, where two more fields are to be added on Backus Lane, should give all of Nantucket's playing fields a rest and island sports teams some breathing room for at least 10 years.

Paying for the new fields, which are estimated to cost about $4.37 million, means appealing to the Community Preservation Committee and ultimately, Town Meeting voters.

This year, Park & Recreation submitted a capital request for $3.6 million for consideration at April's Town Meeting, and is expected to receive an additional $500,000 recommended as part of the CPC's annual dispensations.

EVERGREEN ON THE GROUND

Nantucket is not the first to build artificial fields for its athletes. Closer to home, artificial playing fields can be found in Needham, Newton, Wellesley, Waltham, Westborough, Franklin, at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots.

"If this was an issue, I'm sure that this would have been banned 10 or 15 years ago," said Bartlett.

It is not a concern for Wannacomet Water Company Manager Bob Gardner, who said Wannacomet regularly tests Nantucket's drinking water and is confident only low, harmless levels of crumb rubber's toxic chemicals will be percolating down through the sand beneath the fields.

These fields are built on a layer of gravel, over a layer of sand. Plastic environmental filter fabric is placed over the gravel and then another sand layer is applied and graded for the application of the synthetic grass. Gardner said he believes that whatever does find its way into the island's sole source aquifer would not be enough to be harmful to humans.

"Zinc is not an issue," said Bartlett. "You look at arsenic, you look at cadmium; the amount of sand between that and the ground water level, plus the fact that you don't have a lot of water to carry that down into the sand layer, it's a little bit different from a direct discharge," said Gardner. "I certainly pay attention to that, but I don't view that as threat to the groundwater."

Gardner said it is important that the town examine artificial field building materials and how they will be maintained, and that he would be requesting more information from Park & Recreation on the long-term durability of these fields and their potential for breaking down over time.

Taking Gardner's assurances several steps further, a French Agency for Environment and Energy Management study showed that crumb rubber used for infill on synthetic grass playing fields is harmless, neither polluting bodies of water nor giving off noxious gases.

Rather than test crumb rubber alone in a lab, the French Agency in-filled three artificial fields with three materials including crumb rubber, thermoplastic granules and new virgin material rubber granules.

NO BLACK AND WHITE

Artificial turf advocates argue that these fields are earth-friendly. They do not need mowing, and therefore no petroleum products are burned for their maintenance. They do not need to be fertilized nor protected with pesticides and herbicides. Opponents, however, including Thompson, New York State Assemblyman Englebright and Grassroots Environmental Education of Port Washington, N.Y. point to the potential for serious health issues.

"The toxicity of some of the chemicals that are found in recycled tires is of great concern, but the new tests that were done this summer at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station [found that] many of them are above acceptable levels for our kids," said Grassroots Environmental Education Executive Director Patti Wood. "Every human being has a different susceptibility to harmful effects to these exposures."

Wood is particularly concerned with phthalates released from crumb rubber, which she said could affect children's endocrine glands and the hormones they secrete during the growth process.

"Nothing is black and white on any of these environmental exposures, which makes it far more difficult to get legislation passed that will put a ban on these exposures," said Wood.

Wood also points to the study done by EHHI in which all aspects of crumb rubber were examined and analyzed and found to be a threat to humans and ground water.

"The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station study conclusively demonstrates that the tire crumbs and tire mulch release chemical compounds into the air and ground water. Thus, tire crumbs constitute a chemical exposure for humans and the environment," reads the opening conclusions paragraph of EHHI's report.

Both Wood and Thompson are calling for real-life testing of existing artificial fields instead of just lab-based studies to determine under playing conditions what the true health risks are.

"As with all exposures, the damage may be years down the road and may not be easily linked," Wood conceded.

For anyone wondering about the potentially harmful effects of playing on artificial fields made with crumb rubber, Thompson poses this common sense question: "Would you let your child play in the local dump? Most mothers and fathers would say 'no,

absolutely not.'" I