News Is Rubber Crumb Safe?
Concern about the safety of rubber crumb in artificial surfaces escalates as US House of Representative questions are ignored
The concern about the health and safety of children and student athletes who play on artificial turf’s rubber crumb isn’t going away, it’s actually escalating. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission, which indicated back in April 2015 that they no longer stood by the safety of rubber crumb used on artificial turf and playgrounds, has also stated they are not investigating further because they don’t have the resources at the present time.
When Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was asked by an NBC reporter about the issue as recently as early October she responded, “I have nothing to say on that right now.” Responses such as “I have no comment”, “more research is needed”, or “no further research is planned” have only added to a growing concern.
Amy Griffin, the soccer coach at the University of Washington, who made national news when she reported a trend in cancer among soccer players who play on artificial turf’s rubber crumb has seen her list grow from 38 soccer players with cancer (reported in October 2014 on NBC Nightly News) to 187 athletes, including 150 soccer players, 95 of which are goalkeepers.
Assurances from representatives of synthetic turf, who suggest that such news is anecdotal and represents a very small sampling of the millions of people who played on or used synthetic turf, are of little comfort to parents and others who have expressed their concerns.
Major television networks and cable news outlets have touched on the story. One recently reported there are as many as 12,000 artificial turf fields across the USA and asks the question; “Are these fields causing cancer?”
Most recently, ESPN aired, “The Turf War” featuring former US National Soccer Team midfielder Julie Foudy as she investigated the use of rubber crumb on synthetic turf fields by “talking to those who make it, those who have studied it, those who play on it, including an exclusive interview with the EPA’s Gina
Comment
I was holidaying on the Isle of Wight recently with my two grandchildren where we visited a newly opened ‘adventure farm’.
Many of the attractions were such things as hay bales made into tunnels or climbing walls but, outside, was a huge inflatable bouncy dome completely surrounded by a rubber crumb landing area for ‘safety’.
Working within this industry, my immediate thought was “what if?” What if all the ‘scaremongering’ coming from the States about the carcinogenic properties of rubber crumb is true?
6 I PC DECEMBER/JANUARY 2016
McCarthy, with one question in mind; “is artificial turf safe?"
As recently as 23rd October, the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce sent a letter to McCarthy addressing the growing concern regarding rubber crumb and they want immediate answers.
McCarthy was advised to respond to a series of questions by the 6th November. The following are but of a few of the many questions submitted to McCarthy for a prompt response:
- Has the EPA conducted additional testing to fully asses the hazards and exposures associated with rubber crumb in artificial turf?
- Is the EPA aware of other scientific studies on the hazards and/or exposures associated with crumb rubber on athletic fields?
- To the best of your knowledge, do chemical substances, or a chemical substance in rubber crumb, present a hazard to human health? If so, has the EPA determined whether exposure to such a chemical from rubber crumb presents an unreasonable risk to human health?
- Does data indicate that risk is greater for female athletes than for male athletes, for soccer players than for lacrosse, field hockey, or football players, and for one position in soccer more than for others?
- To the best of your knowledge, is the incidence of cancer or other health issues for persons who play on fields treated with rubber crumb higher than in the general population?
- Has the EPA identified a specific pathway of exposure to hazardous materials in rubber crumb, e.g. inhalation, ingestion, or skin absorption?
- Are you aware of any industry standards that set limits for exposure to rubber crumb based on potential health?
The synthetic manufacturers and installers keep counter-claiming that their products are completely safe, yet the two independent reports above, suggest otherwise, both from a cancer and a heat stress perspective.
These two reports have no hidden agenda. It is not as if they are from the “Keep Grass Real” or “Natural Turf Is Best” camps, but from reliable sources such as Yale University and the University of Hong Kong. This is no industry led ‘scaremongering’, but an attempt to arrive at the truth.
So, why is it that the UK Government has not ordered any scientific research? Why is that the FA are continuing to move
Amy Griffin - 187 reported cases of cancer, including 95 goalkeepers!
The EPA failed to adhere to the deadline. On 6th November, EPA spokesperson Liz Purchia told NBC News that the agency was “in the process of responding” to the Energy Committee’s list of questions. At the time of going to press, they still had not responded.
The Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI) released a study several months ago carried out at Yale University. The study showed that there were 96 chemicals in rubber crumb used as surfacing in toddler playgrounds and on sportsfields; more than a few people weren’t surprised.
But, what was surprising, was that of the 96 chemicals detected, nearly half had no previous toxicity assessments done on them for their health effects - therefore nothing is known about them.
The other half had some toxicity testing done on them, but many of those chemicals had incomplete toxicity testing and, therefore, all health effects are not fully known.
Of the half that had toxicity assessments, 20% are probable carcinogens. 40% of the chemicals in that group were found to be irritants. 24% are respiratory irritants - some causing asthma symptoms; 37% are skin irritants; and 27% can cause eye irritation.
It should be noted that the study did not analyse for the carbon black that makes up to 30% of each tyre, nor did it analyse the carbon black nanoparticles or the nanotubes that are now used in the manufacture of tyres. The study also did not test for heavy metals. It is known, from other studies, that rubber tyres contain large amounts of zinc. These additional substances add to the toxicity of the rubber crumb presently used in both synthetic turf sports pitches and toddlers playgrounds.
forward with their 3G Sports Hubs? Surely there is enough conjecture and concern to make research into rubber crumb a major priority - or does money talk that much that health and safety concerns are swept under the [synthetic] carpet?
Coach Amy Griffin’s observation about a significant rise in cancer cases amongst players playing on rubber crumb infill ‘turf’ should surely ring alarm bells; yet it would appear not. Why not? I don’t want conjecture, I want facts.
If the little girl on the right is harmed in any way by coming into contact with this ‘crumby’ stuff, then all the security in the world
won’t stop me beating a path to No. 10 Downing Street, and I won’t be responsible for my actions when I get there!
Peter Britton, Pitchcare magazine
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