Toxic turf ban fight in Albany
February 7, 2008
The city’s sudden retreat last month from the use of rubber-infill artificial turf could be linked to a proposed moratorium now being considered by the state Legislature.
Assemblyman Steve Englebright, D-Suffolk County, has introduced legislation to declare a six-month moratorium on the installation of fake turf pending a public health study. The sponsor of the bill’s Senate version is James Alesi, R-Rochester.
Over the last few months, Marilyn DuBois’ phone has been ringing in response.
“It’s opened a Pandora’s box,” said DuBois, a senior policy analyst for the state Assembly. “I get calls from all over the state — there seems to be a lot of support for it at the local level.”
The city has 77 artificial-turf athletic fields and 23 more are in design or construction. All but a handful of them have gone down during the Bloomberg administration, and most belong to the new breed of turf, which uses rubber pellets from recycled tires. The rubber contains chemicals that have been linked to cancer, birth defects and other health problems, but studies so far recommend further research to determine the possible risks.
At a City Council hearing on the issue in December, Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe said he was against the moratorium, though it’s recently been revealed the city is now abandoning the use of rubber infill in favor of carpet-style nylon turf. Benepe told the Council’s Parks Committee that more than 40 city schools have infill turf fields, and the state’s School Board Association is also against the legislation.
“Millions of dollars in state education money is going into putting this turf down,” DuBois said. “There are lots of people who feel it’s not been properly evaluated before the turf goes in. And if you have problems, you may face the possibility that when you tear it up you have a hazardous waste.”
Manufacturers have sent DuBois various studies promoting the infill. “My response is, some of these studies are quite insufficient, and the purpose of the bill is to have our state agencies make an evaluation,” she said.
‘A reasonable step’
The moratorium is supported by Dr. Philip Landrigan, a pediatrician, epidemiologist and recognized authority on environmental threats to children. “It’s a reasonable step while we wait for more and better information,” said Landrigan, chair of community and preventive medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Source: Metro NY
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The biggest concern with the heat coming off the fields was for the players health.Yes, the synthetic grass will be definitely safe for sportsman as it has the shock absorbing capacity .