Comment
as goalies internationally, develop cancer. “Goalkeepers are in constant contact with the turf and the rubber crumb gets into their cuts and scrapes, as well as their mouths. “I’ve coached for twenty-seven years,” states Ms Griffin. “My first fifteen years, I never heard anything about cancer. All of a sudden it seems to be in a stream of kids.” She has since compiled a list of thirty-eight American soccer players - thirty-four of whom are goalies - who have been diagnosed with cancer. Blood cancers, such as lymphoma and leukemia, dominate the list. Dr Davis Lee of the Synthetic Turf Council
responded to these observations; “We’ve got fourteen studies on our website that say we can find no negative health effects. Although they aren’t ‘absolutely conclusive,’ there’s certainly a preponderance of evidence, to this point, that says, in fact, it is safe.” But Nancy Alderman, president of the non-
Amy Griffin, head soccer coach at the University of Washington
“
Abby Wambach - a ‘white knight’ in the fight against rubber crumb
profit public health group Environmental and Human Health, has huge reservations. She says of the predominance of blood cancer; “Whenever you see a preponderance of one kind of cancer, that’s when you worry. Goalies are ‘in the stuff’ all the time, so they are actually more exposed than the other players.” Now consider rugby players, who spend much of their time on or close to the ground from tackles and scrummages. When speaking of the matter, Connecticut
Goalkeepers are in constant contact with the turf and the rubber crumb gets into their cuts and scrapes, as well as their mouths
state toxicologist David Brown said to Alderman, “Oh my god, we really have to look into this - I know what’s in tyres.” But there appears to be a ‘white knight’ on the horizon, at least in the States, in the shape of US Women’s soccer star Abby Wambach who has, since her retirement in 2015, turned her attention to rubber crumb. During her international career, she scored 184 goals; more than any other player in history; female or male. In later years, she played many a game on synthetic pitches and was vehemently opposed to the surface choice at the Women’s World Cup staged in Canada in 2015. News about her retirement from the
women’s game spread rapidly on social media, which she announced right after President Obama had welcomed the team to the White House, congratulating them on their World Cup win. In the middle of it all, she broached the
topic of rubber crumb, tweeting to her 583,000 followers; “am glad this is now going to be an issue we can’t turn our backs on anymore. What’s in those little rubber pellets? I don’t want my kids to suffer because they are guinea pigs for some big turf companies.”
She was referring to the House Energy Committee asking the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to comment on the safety of crumb rubber fields by early November, a deadline they failed to meet. When the report was finally presented it
stated; “current information from a number of tyre crumb studies does not show an elevated health risk from playing on fields with synthetic turf or tyre crumbs. However, these studies do not comprehensively address new questions and concerns about children’s health risks from exposure to crumb rubber”. That’s more fudge than the counties of Devon and Cornwall produce in a year. Just get on with it; this is serious stuff! There are many turfcare professionals who
are opposed to the onrush of synthetic turf for professional sport, not least our own managing director, Dave Saltman, and industry stalwart Richard Campey. Their arguments, in the main, are centred around “natural turf is best” and that is certainy true when it comes to the environment and playability. Both have provided strong cases why natural turf should be the preferred surface for the majority of sports - perhaps hockey and tennis being exceptions - and both have stated that synthetic turf has its place in the industry, but the concerns now being raised about the use of the infill need serious investigation - now! I believe it is time that pressure was put on
the UK Government to investigate and regulate accordingly. I would suggest that, whilst scientific research is ongoing, the use of rubber crumb as both an infill and on playgrounds should be suspended. I would further suggest that the FA and the RFU consider the possible health implications before installing these surfaces, as a matter of conscience, or do the perceived financial gains outweigh the concerns? Much of the scientific groundwork has been done in the USA, so surely a conclusion could be reached fairly quickly - and before it might be too late, as it was for so many who came into contact with asbestos whilst the authorities buried their heads in the sand; or should that be the rubber crumb?
Further reading:
Environmental and Human Health Inc -
http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/health_effects.sh tml
http://www.ceh.org/get-involved/take-action/a- cocktail-of-harmful-chemicals-in-artificial-turf-infill/
http://www.hse.gov.uk/rubber/spontaneous.htm
http://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/use- recycled-tire-materials-playgrounds-artificial-turf- fields
What’s in those little rubber pellets? I don’t want my kids to suffer because they are guinea pigs for some big turf companies
16 I PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2016 ”
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