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Artificial turf full of toxins that can cause cancer [etc]



 
 
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Old November 12th 07, 08:06 AM posted to rec.sport.soccer,misc.kids.health,misc.headlines,misc.kids.breastfeeding
Tim Campbell
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Default Artificial turf full of toxins that can cause cancer [etc]

Artificial turf full of toxins that can cause cancer [etc]

Abram Katz, Register Science Editor -


Every new expanse of artificial turf contains plastic grass and about
120
tons of finely chopped tires that emit a small amount of toxic,
cancer-causing, mutation-triggering chemicals and metals.

The layer of rubber "crumbs" makes the surface softer and more
forgiving.
It also gives off dozens of compounds that have not been studied or
assessed for safety in the United States.

Despite assurances from the state Department of Public Health that the
chemicals in artificial turf are little cause for concern,
environmentalists and a growing number of public officials in the
Northeast are questioning the wisdom of building athletic fields
containing the equivalent of 26,000 tires of unknown composition.

Outdoor sports were played on grass and dirt until 1966 and the advent
of
the enclosed Houston Astrodome, which was too dark inside to grow
grass. A
Monsanto subsidiary produced ersatz grass that came to be called
Astroturf. In 1967, Indiana State built the first stadium with outdoor
Astroturf.

Astroturf evolved into a product similar to a plastic shag carpet
in-filled with granulated rubber.

Preliminary safety studies conducted in Connecticut, California,
Missouri
and Europe suggest that these polypropylene mats, topped with loose,
dusty
rubber crumbs, may pose a risk to toddlers, children and teens.

State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and environmental
organizations
in Connecticut and other states call for research into the properties
and
safety of the scores of chemicals that leach out of tires.

However, the number and unfamiliarity of these rubber chemicals are so
extreme that assessing the substances' safety may require decades of
work,
experts said.

Meanwhile, minced tires are being sold as mulch and as a surface for
playgrounds.

Environment & Human Health Inc. of North Haven completed a 30-page
study
of artificial turf in July, becoming one of the first environmental
groups
to address the issue.

Nancy Alderman, president of EHHI, said, "People have been calling
from
all over the country. We're one of the few organizations that's done
anything."

Whatever is seeping out of rubber crumbs is an unnecessary exposure,
she
said. "What are we doing to children? We shouldn't put the stuff in
playgrounds, " she said.

Some civic officials are starting to think the same way.

Fairfield conservation officials blocked an artificial turf field at
Fairfield Country Day School last week. Artificial turf fields were
also
recently rejected in New York and New Jersey townships.

Out of the 850 or so artificial fields in the U.S., Connecticut has
around
50; New York, 150; and New Jersey, 150. East Haven, Milford, Guilford
and
Branford have artificial turf playing fields.

Schools invest in artificial fields because natural grass is easily
damaged and costly to maintain and replace. Grass also needs regular
watering and application of pesticides.

While safety studies of rubber granulate are beginning in the U.S.,
the
Swedish Chemical Agency recommended in April that the material not be
used
in artificial turf because crumbs release hazardous materials. South
Korea's education ministry began investigating the safety of recycled
rubber granules over the summer following student complaints, and last
year a study undertaken by the Italian minister of health found that
synthetic turf fields are potentially carcinogenic.

Just what's in the tires, and what chemicals emerge when the synthetic
rubber breaks down is difficult to determine, said David R. Brown,
director of public health toxicology for EHHI.

"Tire crumbs is a very generic term. Different tires contain different
chemicals. Different crumbs give off different chemicals in different
proportions, but they all have carbon black," he said.

The comprehensive California study found that tire crumbs contain 15
metals, including zinc; 20 volatile organic compounds; 14 semi-
volatile
organic compounds; and particulates.

Researchers found five benzothiazoles, used to speed vulcanization of
rubber. Phenol, used as a softener and extender, was also detected.
Two
nitrosamine compounds were also evident. Other chemicals to slow
degradation of rubber, and to bond rubber to metal belts also turned
up.

Where do all of these chemicals come from?

Few, if any, tires are made from natural latex rubber. Most are
synthetic
and contain styrene-butadiene, ethylene propylene diene monomer and
other
petroleum-based polymers.

When the materials break down, or are left out in the sun and rain, a
related family of chemicals emerges.

The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station in New Haven analyzed
rubber crumbs and the chemicals they leach, finding benzothiazole,
butylated hydroxyanisole, hexadecane, a phenol, zinc, selenium, lead
and
cadmium.

Mary Jane Mattina, chief of analytical chemistry at the experiment
station, said laboratory tests are informative but cannot reveal how
the
rubber granules will perform in the field.

"More work is appropriate, " she said.

Brown said, "We're not taking a minimal problem and blowing it out of
proportion. On a hot day with low wind, the chemicals don't dissipate
quickly."

Brown said the tire industry seems to have found a lucrative way to
dispose of used tires as crumb rubber. "Then came the idea that
$500,000
to $1 million fields could be sold to schools. If the crumbs are
consumed,
they are digested and release carcinogens. Eating 10 grams, the
equivalent
of 10 Splenda packs, puts you over the risk threshold for cancer in
California. You can't say it's trivial. It's not," Brown said.

While a grass field would be decked with fertilizer, pesticides and
other
chemicals, agricultural chemicals are tested, licensed and regulated,
Brown said. Grass turf has no surprises, whereas crumb rubber might.

"There needs to be some basic, common sense assessment before we go
and do
these kinds of things. The more I looked at artificial turf, the more
concerned I've become," Brown said.

"If someone got serious about this, someone could come up with the
right
questions, sampling and establish the risk. It's easier to argue about
it
than get data," he said.

That could prove easier said than done.

Tim Morse, associate professor at the Occupational and Environmental
Health Center at the University of Connecticut Health Center, said
that
out of 80,000 chemicals now used in the United States, standards exist
for
only 500. "We don't require comprehensive testing," he said.

Beside, the U.S. chemical inventory is mostly stock with which to make
other products. No companies make poly aromatic hydrocarbons, or other
exhaust or waste products.

One solution to the crumb rubber problem might be to change the way
tires
are manufactured, Morse said. Perhaps safer chemicals could be used.

Blumenthal is still pushing for $200,000 with which to conduct
research
into crumb rubber. If state agencies will not supply the money, he may
seek private contributions, he said.

"There's a need for more research and study on the health hazards,"
Blumenthal said.

Rather than review every chemical detected in crumb rubber,
investigators
could search for known harmful compounds, he said.

"Few people anticipated that their children would stick their faces
into
chopped up tires, or swallow any. My four children played on synthetic
turf. I'm not panicking," Blumenthal said.

Simple measures, such as washing after playing on artificial turf and
avoiding artificial turf when temperatures are high, could minimize
whatever risk the rubber poses, he said.

"The connection between tires and health effects are unexplored. It is
counter-intuitive to use tires where children play. I can understand
the
apprehension of parents," Blumenthal said.

"There seem to be serious questions here. Maybe we should find
answers,"
he said.

©New Haven Register 2007
11/11/2007
http://www.nhregist er.com/site/ news.cfm? newsid=19011749& BRD=1281&
PAG=461&dept_ id=590581& rfi=6

 




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