Geezer has long preferred artificial turf to real grass, at least when it’s cool outside. Artificial turf is fast, balls bounce straight, and there are no chemicals required to keep it green. Now it appears that the chemical advantage may be scratched, as questions about the health risks of the lead, zinc and arsenic used in some synthetic turf roil the recreation boards in several towns. Newsday reports on the controversy, in which (apologies for stating the obvious) manufacturers insist that the fields are safe; and parents and environmental advocates voice concerns that
cancer could result from long-term exposure to chemicals
through skin contact, accidental ingestion, and breathing dust kicked
up by players. The paper reports that small-scale laboratory tests commissioned by environmental and consumer protection groups in Connecticut and upstate New York found the crumbs contained volatile organic compounds such as
tetrachloroethene and carcinogens known as polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons. The studies could not conclude how
likely humans were to be exposed to the compounds under normal playing
conditions.
Read more about the health risks of artificial turf in Newsday.
See what the Connecticut Department of Public Health has to say.