www.SynTurf.org

[No. 29] Carbon black nanoparticle in crumb rubber raises further concern about artificial turf fields. In a press release, dated August 10, 2010, the Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine, in Germany, announced that it is participating in a research alliance on the health risks of carbon black. According to the press release, “Carbon black is an industrial chemical that is manufactured in large quantities worldwide. It consists of smallest nanoparticles and is used, for example, in the manufacturing of automobile tires and other plastic materials. A health risk from carbon black nanoparticles (CBNP) can, as yet, not be ruled out, and the World Health Organization has classified these particles as possibly carcinogenic.” For a copy of the press release click here.

According to the press release, “The aim of the scientists in the carbon black research alliance is to eventually find modifications of carbon black nanoparticles that pose no hazard to human health and can thus be commercially exploited without risk.” Until that time however the users of artificial turf fields are condemned to breathing in the carbon black nanoparticles that are found in the crumb rubber made from used tires and any other such carbon black nanoparticles that may reside in the artificial truf field's plastic blades.

These concerns have been noted recently by Environment and Human Health, Inc. In an e-mail to SynTurf.org, EHHI posited the following:

Just now, understanding that carbon black nanoparticles are in rubber tires, asks the following questions about nanoparticles in rubber tire crumb infill and playground mulch used by children: 

(1) How does the knowledge that carbon black nanoparticles are added to rubber tires affect the risk assessments done on synthetic turf and the rubber mulch used in toddlers' playgrounds? 

(2) Because none of the risk assessments done up to the present time on rubber tire crumbs or playground mulch have taken into consideration the fact that carbon black nanoparticles have been added to rubber tires --  how does this fact affect the claim by some states that rubber tire crumbs and rubber tire playground mulch are safe for children to play on?

(3)  As children play on synthetic turf fields and playground mulch - dust develops. Are nanoparticles in the dust? If so, are they capable of being aspirated into the children's lungs?  Who is researching this?  Rubber tires are designed for cars and trucks - they were never designed for grinding up and putting where children play. How does this fact affect some states approvals for putting used rubber tires where children play?

  (4) Could this be another example of a toxic material getting out into the environment without enough testing? Environment and Human Health, Inc. is simply asking these questions - which seem appropriate under the circumstances.    

For further study of the toxicity of carbon nanoparticles, please refer to “Understanding the mechanism of toxicity of carbon nanoparticles in humans in the new millennium: A systemic review,” by Mukesh Sharma (Occupational Medicine Division, National Institute of Occupational Health, Meghani Nagar, Ahmedabad, India), in Indian Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, vol. 14(1), 2010, web publication June 24, 2010, abstract available at http://www.ijoem.com/article.asp?issn=0019-5278;year=2010;volume=14;issue=1;spage=3;epage=5;aulast=Sharma ; Peter Gehr (Professor of Histology - the study of tissue - and Anatomy at the University of Bern, Switzerland, in interview with Kaspar Meuli, “Nanoparticles can penetrate brain tissue,” on the website of the Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) (also BAFU in German), March 2010, available at http://www.bafu.admin.ch/dokumentation/umwelt/10649/10659/index.html?lang=en and here; Brent Augustine, “Nanomaterials,” a paper in relation to a course on nanosociety by Charles Tahan of the Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the University of Maryland, Collge Park, available at http://www.tahan.com/charlie/nanosociety/course201/nanos/BA.pdf (not dated) and here; Andre Nel, Tian Xia, Lutz Mädler,and Ning Li, “Toxic Potential of Materials at the Nanolevel,” in Science, 3 February 2006: 622-627, abstract at http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/311/5761/622 ; and The Honk Kong Standard, “Nanoparticle link to China deaths,” August 21, 2009, available http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?we_cat=9&art_id=86662&sid=25016949&con_type=1&d_str=20090821&fc=2 and here and see  Asia News, “Nanoparticles Linked to Deaths in Chinese Factory,” August 21, 2009, on You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9DinAm4n3s

[No. 29] USA Today: New York City and Los Angeles Unified School District spurn crumb rubber in artificial turf. On June 10, 2009, USA Today carried a news story about New York City and Los Angeles Unified School District saying “no” to crumb rubber infill. Here is the opening line from the report:  “Officials in the nation's two largest cities are not waiting out ongoing studies and debate about the safety of artificial turf fields that use crumbs of recycled tire rubber as a base. The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation and the Los Angeles Unified School District have decided that any new artificial fields they purchase must use a different material as its base, or infill, layer.” Source: A.J. Perez, “Two cities spurn crumb rubber in artificial turf,” in USA TODAY,

June 10, 2009, available at  http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2009-06-10-artificial-turf_N.htm .

SynTurf.org Note: While alternative infill may well catch on, the turf industry does its level best to discourage it scaring the potential buyer with cost escalations, possible impairment of warranty, absence of widespread performance data, and absence of test results to show their environmental and health benefit like crumb rubber has! SynTurf.org has learned that Riverdale Country School in Bronx, NY, has just contracted for an artificial turf field that will use an amalgam of coconut and cork for its infill. SynTurf.org has also learned that the same infill is being used in the “dead man zone” of the main stadium at BYU (Provo, Utah), which infill is claimed to be softer to the feet and some 30 degrees cooler than the crumb rubber that was previously used. In the U.S., this infill was first used in connection with a synthetic turf playground in 2008 at International School of Boston, in Cambridge (for the story, see http://www.synturf.org/industrynotes.html , Item No. 16)

What is at work in the case of NYC, LAUSD and a smattering of other places is the gradual acceptance of the Precautionary Principle when it comes to the planning and operation of synthetic turf fields, particularly the crumb rubber variety. The Precautionary Principles states: When an activity raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures should be taken even if some cause and effect relationships are not fully established scientifically. In this context the proponent of an activity, rather than the public, should bear the burden of proof. The process of applying the precautionary principle must be open, informed and democratic and must include potentially affected parties. It must also involve an examination of the full range of alternatives, including no action.

[No. 28] What’s new is old news: Research professor warns about crumb rubber toxicity. The following is an item form Tire & Rubber Recycling Fax, a bulletin of the Tire Industry Association (TIA), vol. 2, no. 1 (January 13, 2003). Available on the Internet at http://www.tireindustry.org/newsarchives/recycling/recyclyingfax_jan03.asp , the piece reported on the work of one Alison Draper, a research professor at Bucknell University, Bucknell, Pennsylvania, who is currently at  Trinity College in Hartford, CT.

TIA abstract (January 13, 2003):

Preliminary data from a new research study looking into the effects of tire-wear particles on the environment indicates the tire-wear particles may have a negative effect on plant and animal life in aquatic environments. Alison Draper, a research professor at Bucknell University, Bucknell, Pennsylvania, has learned that for every kilometer a car travels, about 90 milligrams of tread wears off in particles ranging from 10 microns or less to 75 microns. Draper launched the study with the hope of finding ways to make tires less polluting and to seek answers to the question of where the tread on a car tire goes when it wears off. While Draper has just begun to test the effects of the smallest particles, which remain airborne, her tests appear to show that a toxin or toxins in the larger particles leach out when exposed to water, harming both plant and animal life. Although she has not identified what is responsible for the harmful effects, she said it could be zinc oxide or any of the sulfur-containing agents used in making tires, according to a recent update on the research project.

College Campus News. The TIA abstract no doubt was inspired by the release of an Ascribe Newswire item carrying an item from The College Campus News, a Collegenews.org offering from the Annapolis Group, a nonprofit alliance of the nation’s leading independent liberal arts colleges. Reported from Lewisburg, Pa., on November 19, 2009, the AScribe Newswire’s piece was entitled report, entitled, What Happens to the Rubber That Wears Off a Car's Tires? Bucknell University Chemistry Professor Investigates Environmental, Health Impacts of Tire Wear Particles, available at  http://www.collegenews.org/x1939.xml  (or click here).

LEWISBURG, Pa., Nov. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- Alison J. Draper, an assistant professor of chemistry at Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa., is doing research where the rubber meets the road - literally.

She’s investigating the environmental and health impacts of automobile tire wear particles. As automobile tires move along a road, tiny particles are worn off, and can end up in the air and in nearby waterways. Draper previously did research on diesel exhaust, but says that tire rubber is “much more interesting chemically,” containing heavy metals like zinc and cadmium, hydrocarbons, latex, and sulfur-containing compounds.

Draper's research is not yet complete. But so far her findings include preliminary but solid evidence that tire wear particles may have negative impacts on small organisms in water habitats. Airborne tire particles may also aggravate respiratory problems in human beings (such as asthma or allergies).

Draper’s method has been to make up clean samples of water like those inhabited by several kinds of aquatic organisms - algae, duckweed, daphnia (water fleas), fathead minnows, and snails - and under controlled laboratory conditions, put finely ground tire particles into the samples. By letting the particles remain in the water for 10 days and then filtering them out, she created a “leachate” that included substances in the tire rubber. All the organisms exposed to the leachate died, and the algae died fairly quickly.

Draper is also working on determining the levels of tire rubber chemicals in water that cause sub-lethal effects, such as reproductive problems in the snails and pre-cancerous lesions in the minnows. Draper's work so far has been performed in a lab, under controlled conditions, but she says there’s “good evidence” that tire rubber may have similar effects on similar organisms living in real waterways along real roadways.

An environmental chemist with a doctorate in toxicology (University of Kansas Medical Center, 1996), Draper is also the Clare Boothe Luce Professor of Environmental Chemistry at Bucknell. She says there’s good evidence from the chemistry of tire rubber that it also has the potential to cause asthmatic and/or allergic-type reactions. “We’re only at the very beginning of that investigation. But, given the chemicals in tire rubber and given how readily they leach out, we can expect a respiratory response [in human beings],” she says. “It depends on the levels of the chemicals and the level of exposure - certain people will be more susceptible than others.”

Draper’s research started humbly, with an old tire that came from her father,s 1981 Chevrolet Malibu and was already on the refuse heap. "My father was about to throw it out,” Draper recalls, “and I said, ‘Wait!’” Now she uses tire tread particles supplied by a company in Mississippi, already ground up, and consisting of mixed tire brands.

[No. 28] Nancy Alderman speaks on hazards of rubber mulch, crumb rubber. On You Tube at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1F3FnQM1dms . Nancy Alderman is the President of Environment and Human Health, Inc, a nonprofit in North Haven, Connecticut (www.ehhi.org). For various postings on this site touching on EHHI, please see http://www.synturf.org/ehhibrief.html and http://www.synturf.org/moratoriums.html (Item No. 02) and  http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item No. 23) and http://www.synturf.org/cpsc.html (Item No. 03).
 

[No. 27] New York City: Out with the crumb rubber! According to a news report in the Daily News (February 10, 2009), “The controversial material made from recycled tires will no longer be used in synthetic-turf fields for parks and schools, officials said yesterday. While insisting crumb rubber isn't toxic, the officials said they stopped using it because it overheats on hot days and could pose a health risk.” First Deputy Parks Commissioner Liam Kavanagh told a City Council panel [on February 9, 2009] that the City will replace the crumb in all city fields “as part of the normal 10-year renovation cycle.” “Activists and some legislators, however, have called the fields potentially toxic and demanded removal.” “The Council hearing was on several bills to control synthetic fields, including one to impose a six-month moratorium on building new synthetic-turf fields of any kind. The bill's main sponsor, City Councilman Eric Gioia (D-Queens), urged the city to remove all of the controversial material.” “You've got to make sure that you can guarantee every parent in New York City that when their kids are playing on a field, that it is 100 percent safe. If you can't make that guarantee, you’ve got to close that field. It's not a matter of dollars and cents, it's a matter of children’s health,” said Gioia. With the exception of the field at Thomas Jefferson Park, which had tested for high levels of lead, “Department officials say other fields have trace levels of lead, but not enough to cause any harm.” For more on the story, please go to Frank Lombardi, “City yields ground on crumb rubber in turf wars,” in Daily News, February 9, 2009, available at http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2009/02/09/2009-02-09_city_yields_ground_on_crumb_rubber_in_tu.html ; and NY1 (TV) News, “City Holds Hearing On Synthetic Turf,” http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/93623/city-holds-hearing-on-synthetic-turf/Default.aspx

According to the notice of the Council for the Public Hearing on February 9, 2009, http://www.nyccouncil.info/html/calendar/calendar_meetingdetail.cfm?meetingid=5336 the following artificial turf items were on the agenda:

Int 739 - By Council Members Baez, James, Gioia, Mark-Viverito, Gonzalez, Palma and Arroyo - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to prohibiting the use of certain synthetic turf on surfaces used for recreational purposes.

Int 896 - By Council Members de Blasio, Lappin, Barron, Brewer, Gerson, Gonzalez and James - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to requiring signage warning of heat dangers of playground mats.

Int 918 - By Council Member Stewart - A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the surface areas of playgrounds and playing fields.

Res 1782 - By Council Member Mark-Viverito - Resolution calling upon the New York State Legislature to amend Section 399-dd of the General Business Law to allow municipalities to enact local laws regarding playground equipment and the Department of Parks and Recreation to require a temperature test for all equipment installed in parks and playgrounds, including safety surfacing, and to prohibit such materials from being installed that pose a health or burn danger to exposed skin.

[No. 25]  Synthetic Fields: A Question of Ingestion. A video presentation (June 14, 2008). The following link will take you to a YouTube video clip on dynamics of crumb rubber: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zsodulEmz0. The field featured in the video was installed by San Francisco City Field Foundation.

[No.  24] Another “same old, same old” report/review of existing literature. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, A Review of the Potential Health and Safety Risks from Synthetic Turf Fields containing Crumb Rubber Infill (May 2008). For the report go to http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/eode/turf_report_05-08.pdf . For a critique of this work and its limitations, go to http://www.synturf.org/wrapuparticles.html (Item No. 6) 

[No. 22]  Trust for Public Land Gets Religion, Says “No” to Crumb Rubber.  SynTurf.org, Newton, Mass. February 21, 2008. The Trust for Public Land (TPL) (http://www.tpl.org)  holds itself out as “a land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places, ensuring livable communities for generations to come.”

http://www.tpl.org/tier2_sa.cfm?folder_id=170. Imagine the horror, this organization has been in the forefront of the recent wave of senseless proliferation of artificial turf fields around New York City, with no less than 18 crumb rubber infilled turf fields already in place and seven more in the works. These installations are part of a $25 million project to improve city school playgrounds.

In a news story reported by Adam Lisberg of the Daily News, it looks like the public furor over artificial turf fields has finally gotten the TPL’s attention. The Senior Public affairs Associate for TPL’s mid-Atlantic region, Troy Farmer, told Daily News that TPL “will switch to a different turf at the next seven it builds.” "We're moving away from the crumb rubber," he told Lisberg.  "There's really no firm evidence that there's anything to be frightened of, but as long as people are concerned, better safe than sorry," he said.

Now, only if the New York City officials, particularly the elected ones, could act in a semi-enlightened way like TPL! It cannot be that a program that is supposed to promote wellness should cushion itself on tens of thousands of tons of tiny bits of free-floating recycled tires or thermoplastic grains, each with its own environmental and health risks.

The irony: This infestation of NYC’s urban playgrounds with artificial turf and crumb rubber is going on in the name of serving the underprivileged and urban youth, who, unlike the children of the well-to-do, do not get to go to the bucolic surroundings in the tri-State area or up-State, to camps where they can enjoy nature and natural grass playing fields. They are sentenced to play on fake grass, among whose features is a surface temperature that runs 30 to 40 degrees hotter than natural grass, that is hotter than asphalt, on a typical sunny summer day in the city.

[No. 21] Who’s On First? New York backpedals on infill directive! SynTurf.org, Newton Mass. January 25, 2008.  Just as you thought it was gone become safe once again for kids to play on artificial turf, out comes Frau Freitag (nicknamed “Friday”) and pulls the rug literally right from under the Specifications Department’s January 14, 2008, directive to suspend the use of rubber infill. See Item No. 20 below. 

The Directive had been an internal memorandum. A copy of it apparently ended up in the hands of the NYC Park Advocates and on January 22, 2008, the Advocates spilled the contents of the memorandum to the public in a press release. No sooner than the press picked up on this and NYC Park Advocates’ bravado for bringing about the change, the Parks & Recreation Department went into spin control. The Deputy Commissioner of Capital Projects Amy Freitag put out a statement saying,  “There is no change in the Parks Department's policy on synthetic turf and in the internal memorandum, I incorrectly made a blanket statement. As technology evolves, we are replacing a single standard and exploring the use of a carpet-style turf, particularly for asphalt conversions.” “The directive was meant to apply only to the conversion of asphalt to synthetic turf fields where a carpet-style turf may be more appropriate,” she continued. “In building sports fields,” she said, “we will continue to explore all appropriate technologies, including natural fields.” “There is no public health danger at any of these fields. On public safety, Parks is working with the Department of Health, which is conducting a study examining the health and safety risks and benefits of synthetic turf fields” Freitag assured the public. 

The fact of the matter is that since 2002 Gotham has installed more than 77 artificial turf fields and has some 23 more on the drawing board. Contrary to Freitag’s statement, exactly when and where has the Parks and Recreation Department explored natural grass fields in the recent year? One must also question Freitag’s sincerity in assuring the public of the safety of artificial turf fields when, by her own admission, the Health Department is conducting a study examining the health and safety risks and benefits of synthetic turf fields. According to NYC Park Advocates’ January 22 press release, the City already has installed over 30,000,000 pounds (30 million) of the petroleum- and chemical-laced products in city parks over the last nine years. The city is currently installing millions of additional pounds.” 

So, what possessed the Specifications Department to issue the Directive in the first place? According to Patrick Arden of New York City Metro, one of the co-authors of the Directive, Ms. Celia Petersen, the head of specifications, had received on July 6, 2006, a data sheet from Forever Green, a turf manufacturer, which stated “This product contains petroleum oils similar to ones categorized ... as causing skin cancer in mice after prolonged and repeated contact. Any potential hazard can be minimized by using ... protective equipment to avoid skin contact and by washing thoroughly.” Patrick Arden, “City asks for a mulligan on its toxic turf ban,” in New York City Metro, January 23, 2008, available at http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/City_asks_for_a_mulligan_on_its_new_toxic_turf_ban/11536.html. According to Arden “A variation on this last recommendation is now on the Health Dept.’s Web site: ‘As with any outdoor activity, it is recommended that after using the fields, people wash their hands before eating or drinking.’”

Obviously, as Arden also reported,  Petersen’s directive to suspend rubber infill was a legitimate and precautionary response to increasing health concerns over the use of rubber granules from used tires. Perhaps the suspension of the infill would have been viewed as an admission of wrongdoing. Or perhaps the City now feared that it would have to vacuum out the rubber infill or worse yet replace the turf fields with a safe product? The bureaucratic consternation was strong enough to force an about-face on the part of the City.

Last December, 2007,  Freitag received the Parks’ Twelfth Annual Award. Exactly how does a native of Akron, Ohio, with a BA from Smith College in Theatre and American Studies, and two Masters degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in Landscape Architecture and Historic Preservation end up endorsing artificial turf fields? Everything about Freitag’s biography would suggest a personality given to preservation of natural fields instead of mindless proliferation of turf and then even more mindless defense of them. Freitag’s biography is available at Parks and Recreation Department’s  The Daily Planet, vol. xvii, no. 3521, January 3, 2008, at http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_newsroom/daily_plants/daily_plant_main.php?id=12510. She is regarded as “an outstanding administrator and role model,” who “is modernizing our preservation efforts while keeping our historic sites intact!” Moreover she is “an animal lover, gardener, and chef,” and “a rising star in the Parks world.” Maybe not.

[No. 20] New York City: Rubber  infill is out!  SynTurf.org, Newton, Mass. January 25, 2005. On January 14, 2008, the New York City Parks & Recreation Department suspended the use of rubber infill synthetic turf in all parks capital projects. The internal memorandum prepared by Charles Rudesill and Celia Petersen and issued under the authority of Deputy Commissioner of Capital Projects Amy Freitag, the Design Directive 2008-1 (Synthetic Turf Fields) stated “Effective immediately, please discontinue use of Parks standard specification ‘Synthetic Turf-Infill Type’ and delete the words ‘infill material’ from detail 5 on standard detail sheet 40.” “Non-infill specifications for synthetic turf fields are available from our Specifications Department,” the Directive stated.
A copy of the Directive was obtained by New York Park Advocates and it has been the subject of several news articles in recent days. For news article on this story, see Timothy Williams, “City Park officials Seek safety Review of Synthetic Surfaces,” in The New York Times, January 23, 2008, available  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/23/nyregion/23turf.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin; Patrick Arden, “City asks for a mulligan on its toxic turf ban,” in New York City Metro, January 23, 2008, available at http://ny.metro.us/metro/local/article/City_asks_for_a_mulligan_on_its_new_toxic_turf_ban/11536.html.

Click here for a copy of the Directive.

"Liam would come home with the tiny [rubber crumb] particles in his cleats, in his clothes and in his hair... 'Kids are tracking it back home, into washers and dryers, on the rugs and in their tubs. It's not just staying on the field. It's migrating.'... [Because of health and environmental implications of rubber crumb] Liam Taylor and his mother are proceeding with caution. This year, he is on the soccer team at the Hopkins School in New Haven, which does not have a synthetic turf field, and his mother refuses to let him play at any school that does have one. 'My job is to protect my son,' she said. 'Now that there is evidence of out-gassing, he will not be exposed until the fields are proven safe.'" Read more of this story by Jeff Holz, "Parents Raising Concerns Over Synthetic Turf," The New York Times, October 28, 2007, available at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/28turfwe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. The story features also statements by physicians and public health experts, and calls for more study, caution and moratorium.

No. 18]  Toxic Turf  [News report -- text and video]
News 12, Port Washington, Long Island, NY, October 15, 2007
Video clip: http://news12.cv.net/video/BLTURFST.wmv

Text: http://www.news12.com/LI/topstories/article?id=201493#%22.
PORT WASHINGTON - The use of artificial turf fields at Long Island schools is growing, yet the jury is still out on whether they put children at risk. Synthetic turf fields, like the 150 Landtech has sold to schools on the Island, are made with rubber from recycled tires. Grassroots Environmental Education's Doug Wood and other experts claim the used tires contain toxic metals and carcinogenic chemicals, and therefore so do the fields. "Tires are so full of toxic chemicals they have to be disposed of in a special landfill," Wood said. "So why would you grind them up and put them on a field where kids are going to play?" Ken Marlborough, athletic director for Port Washington schools, said Landtech assured him the artificial turf it installed was safe. Marlborough said the appeal of the $750,000 surface is its convenience. "The real benefit I think is that [it] is truly an all-weather surface," he said. "Even in a heavy downpour with[in] a matter of minutes, the field drains and can be ready to play on almost immediately." Landtech, which declined to speak on camera, said through a spokesperson that studies show the tire crumbs are not harmful. News 12 Long Island decided to test the claims, taking a sample from the Port Washington field for lab studies. The content levels of heavy metals were within government limits. However, some cancer-causing chemicals were well in excess of state safety levels. Chrysene, for one, was present in amounts more than 1,250 times the safe limits. Dr. David Carpenter, of Environmental Health and Toxicology, said the state Department of Health should impose a moratorium on the installation of artificial turf fields until enough research proves they are safe. A prominent New York toxicologist is conducting a study and promises to release her results in the near future.

Corrado Zunino, Erba sintetica, allarme confermato “Quei campi vanno bonificati,” in La Repubblica, May 3, 2006 – reproduced in its entirety below and also available at http://www.repubblica.it/2006/04/sezioni/cronaca/campi-sintetitici-cancerogeni/conferma-rischi-cancro/conferma-rischi-cancro.html. [Translated  for synturf.org in part by Elio Branca]. The former Italian minister of Health, Francesco Storace’s last act in office was to make public on May 2, 2006, the study of a commission that he had set up in order to examine the potential risks associated with use of rubber in artificial turf fields. According to the study, the synthetic turf fields in Italy are potentially cancer-causing. The study found levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), toluene (volatile toxic compound), and heavy metals to be higher than the legal limits. The PAHs pose risks to kidneys, liver, and lungs. According to the investigators at the High Institute of Health (Instituto superiore di Sanita), the inhalation of the dust from these substances pose a risk to soccer players. The commission, which also included physicians and lawyers from the ministry of the Environment, urged the adoption of a law to clean up the dangerous fields. According to Professor Roberto Verna, the president of the commission, “It is clear that PAHs and toluene are a danger to health.” “We do not want to spread fear, but it is necessary to find a way to clean up the playing fields,” he said. “Let us say, all of the fields in Italy need to be examined, the 350 official ones and the dozens that have been installed without governmental approval,” he said. Accroding to Verna, the inspiration for defining the danger of artificial turf fields comes from the law about greens paces and parklands. The study document will be sent to FIFA, the world governing body for soccer, and to the European Union: the European Union already has prohibited the production of rubber with PAHs after 2007. “This study is the first such work in Europe that has been undertaken by an independent commission,” said Varna. "The rubber in the fields,” he said, “must be treated like dairy products: we must know about the origin of the rubber, the process and how its is made into its final form – to get a seal of approval/label of quality.” According to Carlo Tavecchio, president of national league of amateurs (Lega nazionale dilettanti), “we have to open up 200 fields and take out/vacuum the noxious substances. The cost will be divided among the Federal soccer organization, the producers of the turf and management of the clubs.” This will be a titanic undertaking. Each full-size soccer field (11 v. 11) contains 130 tons of infill and costs between 300,000 to 650,000 Euros. On the heel of the discovery of toxicity of the artificial turf fields, a pitched industrial battle is brewing between the producers of virgin rubber and recycled rubber, the big versus small. There is Olimpico that makes a product that is a mix of artificial grass and natural grass and does not need rubber. Then there are firms that manufacture foundations/underlay for artificial turf fields out of cork. The commission noticed a great number of children’s playgrounds are on rubber surfaces that are produced by the sane firms that manufacture the rubber for artificial turf fields. The SBR rubber is considered risky. According to Giovanni Lolli, undersecretary of Sports, “This is a serious problem. The commission has done diligent work: the next administration should reconvene the commission.” 

Italian text:

Resi noti i risultati della commissione creata dall'ex ministro Storace. I tecnici del ministero della Salute rilanciano il rischio cancro.
Erba sintetica, allarme confermato "Quei campi vanno bonificati," di CORRADO ZUNINO
ROMA - L'ultimo atto del ministero della Salute uscente certifica l'allarme: i campi in erba sintetica costruiti in Italia sono potenzialmente cancerogeni. La commissione istituita da Francesco Storace, poi costretto a lasciare la guida del ministero, ieri mattina ha discusso in maniera accesa un paio d'ore e poi ha deciso - all'unanimità - di lasciare un documento-avvertimento al prossimo ministro della Sanità. In quel ponderoso lascito si dicono quattro cose decisamente serie. Nell'intaso di gomma che sostiene il manto d'erba artificiale, primo, ci sono quantità pericolose, in alcuni casi picchi elevati e comunque sempre oltre la soglia stabilita per legge, di Ipa (idrocarburi policiclici aromatici dannosi per reni, fegato e polmoni), toluene (composto volatile altamente tossico) e metalli pesanti. Quindi, seconda informazione, si stanno chiudendo gli studi su come questi elementi possano essere inalati dai calciatori in attività sui campi e le prime indicazioni dei ricercatori dell'Istituto superiore di Sanità preoccupano: le polveri che si sollevano giocando a pallone sono rischiose.

Terzo, sulle basi di queste scoperte scientifiche si deve realizzare una legge sui campi in erba artificiale, oggi inesistente. Infine, medici, avvocati del ministero dell'Ambiente e colonnelli dei Nas - tutti componenti della commissione - consigliano al prossimo ministro di emettere un'ordinanza per la bonifica dei campi pericolosi.Il professor Roberto Verna, ordinario di Patologia clinica della Sapienza di Roma, presidente della commissione, dice: "Ipa e toluene sono pericolose per la salute, questo è acclarato. I Nas hanno prelevato campioni di gomma in tredici campi: tutte le aziende e tutti i tipi di intasi hanno mostrato problemi. Non vogliamo seminare paure, ma è necessario trovare un modo per bonificare i terreni di gioco. Diciamo che tutti i campi italiani devono essere controllati, i 350 ufficiali e le decine di abusivi. Il metodo di controllo dovrà essere unico". Per definire i campi pericolosi il gruppo di lavoro si è ispirato alla normativa sul verde pubblico e alle tabelle dei parchi. Questo documento sarà inviato alla Fifa, l'organizzazione mondiale del calcio, e all'Unione europea, che già ha vietato la produzione di gomme con idrocarburi aromatici a partire dal 2007. "È il primo lavoro realizzato in Europa da una commissione indipendente. Le gomme, oggi, devono essere trattate come si fa con le mucche: dobbiamo sapere dove si raccoglie la materia prima, come si lavora, come arriva il prodotto finito. Ci vuole un'etichetta del prodotto". Il presidente della Lega nazionale dilettanti, Carlo Tavecchio, gestore discusso del grande affare campi artificiali, ha già parlato di rottamazione. "Dovremo aprire almeno duecento terreni e aspirare le sostanze nocive. Ripartiremo i costi tra Federcalcio, produttori dei campi e gestori". L'impresa è titanica: ogni campo a undici ha 130 tonnellate di intaso e costa tra i 300 e i 650 mila euro. Le aziende medio-piccole sono in grave difficoltà: "Abbiamo fatto forti investimenti quando i regolamenti erano provvisori e oggi i comuni interrompono i pagamenti e le banche ci chiedono di restituire i prestiti concessi". Intorno alla scoperta della tossicità dei campi è in corso, infatti, una dura battaglia industriale: produttori di gomma vergine contro riciclatori, grandi contro piccoli. In queste ore si sono fatti avanti, per esempio, i gestori del prato dell'Olimpico "realizzato con un prodotto misto di erbe naturali e artificiali che non ha bisogno di sottofondo" e alcune aziende che hanno messo a brevetto campi con fondi in sughero. La commissione del ministero della Salute ha scoperto, ancora, che una buon parte dei "parchi gioco" del territorio - le aree con scivoli e giostre presenti nelle piazze italiane - poggia su tappetini in gomma prodotti dalle stesse aziende che forniscono i campi in erba artificiale e realizzati con le stesse gomme riciclate: l'Sbr considerato a rischio. Giovanni Lolli, candidato sottosegretario allo Sport, dice: "Il problema è serio, questa commissione ha lavorato con serietà, il prossimo governo dovrà reinsediarla". (3 maggio 2006)

No. 14] Recyclers Used to Burning Rubber Are Now Idling, by Cindy Skrzycki, Washingtonpost.com, September 18, 2007
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/17/AR2007091701879.html
 
[SynTurf.org Editor's Note: No sooner than you had bought the claim of turf sellers that old and out artificial turf carpet can be disposed off as fuel, here comes this item. This item covers a court-mandated change in a deacde-old EPA policy that allowed old tires to be burned as "alternative fuel." The rise of  in-filled synthetic turf field industry came about a the same time as that policy, which made little of environmental and health hazard of used tires. As long as used tires were being "recycled" out of municipal disposal centers due to their hazardous nature and volume, EPA cared not!]

Text of article -- A new industry that recycles old tires into fuel, saving companies millions of dollars and reducing a billion-tire national stockpile, is in limbo after a U.S. appeals court tossed out some federal clean-air rules.In the past decade, owners of industrial boilers considered themselves do-gooders because they had the Environmental Protection Agency's blessing to burn alternative fuels, including old tires. Yet environmental groups said the practice dodged clean-air requirements by classifying incinerators as boilers, which have less stringent emission rules. On June 8, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia agreed, heading off a new EPA rule that was to go into effect last week and forcing the agency to come up with a new definition of "solid waste." "Tires will become a pariah if they are classified as a solid waste," said Michael Blumenthal, senior technical director for the Rubber Manufacturers Association in the District, which represents major tire manufacturers. He said the impact of the ruling would be "monumental." Michael Sorcher, president of M.A. Associates, a marketer of tire-derived fuel based in Overland Park, Kan., said the new industry has been thriving. It saves more than $100 million a year for such customers as International Paper of Memphis, and Holcim of Jona, Switzerland, the world's second-largest cement maker, he said. "This regulatory change doesn't just affect end users but the whole industry structure," Sorcher said, referring to makers of crumb rubber and other forms of recycled tire rubber. "It would be devastating for the industry in general." The court said facilities burning tires, wood, bark and other industrial wastes had been improperly classified by the EPA. The agency allowed facilities that "recovered energy" to be designated as boilers instead of following language in the Clean Air Act designating units that burn any solid waste as incinerators. "Had Congress intended to exempt all units that combust waste for the purpose of recovering thermal energy, it could likewise have expressly provided for their exemption in the statute," the ruling said. 
Robert Wayland, leader of the EPA's Energy Strategies Group in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, said the agency wanted to encourage the use of alternative energy sources, including tire-derived fuel. "We thought we had the purview to include these," Wayland said. Cement kilns are the biggest users of tire-derived fuel, burning as many as 60 million tires a year, said Michel Benoit, executive director for the Cement Kiln Recycling Coalition in the District. The last thing his members want, Benoit said, "is another rule and charting into some unknown territory" that would make replacing coal with tires uneconomical. "Nobody has been ruled in or out at this point," said the EPA's Wayland, adding it will take at least two years to propose and complete a new rule that defines fuel and waste. Jockeying over the new proposal has already begun. The Rubber Manufacturers Association told the EPA on June 25 that it should modify any new rules to exempt tires from its definition of solid waste. The growth of markets for tire-derived fuel was nurtured by the EPA in the past 20 years to solve another environmental problem -- the billion-tire stockpile was a fire and disease risk. Environmentalists were unsympathetic to the plight of tire recyclers and their customers. "If they burn tires, they have to meet emission standards," said James Pew, staff attorney with Earthjustice, a District environmental law firm that argued the case with the Natural Resources Defense Council, a nonprofit group. "It's not our goal to crack down on them, just to get a better environmental result." The biggest users of tire-derived fuel said they will have to calculate the energy savings against the higher costs of being reclassified as an incinerator. "If it's 10 percent of the fuel they use and it's millions of dollars for more controls, mills will say it's just easier to switch fuels," said Timothy Hunt, senior director for air-quality programs at the District-based American Forest and Paper Association, which represents pulp, paper and wood mills that use biomass and tires as fuel. "Every paper mill will face that decision." He said that though states may step in with interim controls, facilities don't have a rule to comply with until the EPA comes up with a new standard. Whatever the outcome, at least one company thinks the decision will encourage a different form of recycling tires: freezing and then pulverizing them into powder that can be use in paint, tile, decking, automotive parts -- and new tires. Lehigh Technologies, a private company in Naples, Fla., uses about 7 million tires annually. One official there says the growth potential for its process is immense and doesn't have environmental consequences. "We're interested in converting the rubber into more beneficial uses," said Patrick George, Lehigh's chief financial officer. "We're just trying to figure out how this affects our business." Cindy Skrzycki is a regulatory columnist for Bloomberg News. She can be reached atcskrzycki@bloomberg.net.

Read the rest of the story on Yahoo News at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070608/ap_on_re_us/tire_reef_blunder.

No. 12] Editorial Note: On Toxcity of Rubber Crumb

The rubber crumb is toxic. There is little doubt about it. What toxicological studies on rubber crumb measure is the health hazard of rubber crumb to humans and other living things. Toxicity of rubber crumb already has been shown in aquatic life. This conclusion was reached in 2003 Canadian study titled “Toxicological Evaluation for the Hazard Assessment of Tire Crumb for Use in Public Playgrounds,” by Detlef A. Birkholz, Kathy L. Belton and Tee L. Guidotti, and published in the Journal of Air & Waste Management Association, vol. 53: 903-907 (July 2003). The sellers of artificial turf often cite this study as proof that rubber crumb does not pose a health hazard to humans. Tthe researchers Birkholz, Belton and Guidotti designed a hazard assessment study to evaluate the potential human health and environmental concerns associated with the use of tire crumb in playgrounds. The human health concerns were addressed using conventional hazard analyses, mutagenicity assays, and aquatic toxicity tests of extracted tire crumb. They concluded that the hazard to children appeared to be minimal. However, toxicity to all aquatic organisms (bacteria, invertebrates, fish, and green algae) was observed; but the toxicity disappeared with aging of the tire crumb for three months in place in the playground. The study concluded, "the use of tire crumb in playgrounds results in minimal hazard to children and the receiving environment." For the abstract of the study go to http://secure.awma.org/journal/ShowAbstract.asp?Year=2003&PaperID=1089. For the full version of the study in PDF click here. The assurance of "minimal hazard" to humans does not mean absence of toxicity. As to humans and other air and land animals, the question of harm depends on the form, amount, concentration, and duration of exposure to the harmful substances in rubber crumb and its leachate. There was a time when DDT, asbestos, Agent Orange, smoking cigarette, second-hand smoke and transfats were all accepted and acceptable. In the City of Newton, Massachusetts, the public schools are latex-free environment.Yet, it is perfectly okay that Newton children and youth should wallow in polypropylene and plastic fibers and rubber crumb of an artificial turf field or tire crumb dust from rubberized playgrounds! One of the glaring omissions from toxicological studies of rubber crumb is reference to the adhesion of rubber crumb and synthetic fibers to the herbicide, fungicide, algaecide, and pesticides that are used in the maintenance of artificial turf fields. One should be concerned about the health hazards of rubber crumb also as a delivery mechanism for the residue of the toxins that are used to treat the fields.

Loose and plenty

No. 11] Rubber Infill. A typical multipurpose “new-generation” synthetic field contains a mix of some 10 tons of rubber crumb (granule infill) and 3 tons of sand.. The rubber crumb-and-sand mix is applied to the surface of the field and it is in the form of loose granule not larger than a small mouse dropping. The crumb and sand move about – laterally and vertically. Upon impact from a dropping body, slid or kick, the crumb and sand fly off in a puff-like dust. In most synthetic turf fields, the rubber crumb that has moved or washed off the field can be scooped up by the handful. The periodic treatment of the infill is therefore a crucial part of a well-maintained synthetic turf field.
The thumbnails below depict the cross-sectional layout of a variety of rubber infill artificial turf fields. The fourth from left, shows the emerging modular natural grass format, whereby the natural grass field is rendered reparable by the help of previously grown and inventoried squares of natural grass.

A toxic cocktail

Typically, a rubber infill artificial turf consists of rubber crumb from recycled tires. There are other forms of rubber or combination of rubber and other substances but they are expensive enough to make the cost of an artificial turf field much prohibitively higher than natural grass fields. About 250 million scrap tires are generated in the US every year. The disposal of used tires in landfills or by incinerators has been a problem for a long time. Some 80 percent are ground up and recycled – 30 percent mixed with asphalt for highways; 30 percent mixed with plastics for molded products; and 15 percent used for athletic surfaces, including artificial turf. An average synthetic turf football or soccer fields uses 45,000 recycled tires that might otherwise take up space in the landfill. Ironically, the very article that is not readily disposable is being re-introduced into our environment in the form of granulated rubber crumb on our playing fields.

No. 09] Infill granules. According to Melos GmbH, Melle, Germany  (www.melos-gmbh.com), there are essentially four varieties of granule infill materials: The SBR infill material is the most cost-effective infill granules. The material has a high rubber content that gives it high elasticity. The carbon black gives it resistance to UV and the weather. Since this product is manufactured from recycled materials (principally old car tires) some variation in quality cannot entirely be ruled out. Depending on the length of time the original material was used, it may become brittle after a relatively short time. Because the material was originally manufactured for a different purpose this granule’s polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and zinc contents are extremely variable and may be quite high. It is not possible to flameproof this material. The PUR-coated SBR granules combines the elasticity of SBR materials with a free choice of colors. In price, this material lies between SBR and EPDM infill granules, which makes PUR-coated SBR the logical alternative where colored (green or brown) granules are to be used and where the material’s environmental toxicity is of secondary importance. It is not possible to flameproof this material. The EPDM infill granule has been around since the time rubberized artificial turf was first introduced. It is produced especially for playing fields and so the material can be tailored to individual requirements, so it is possible to supply flame-retardant and foamed granules in any desired color. EPDM infill granules are naturally non-fading and weatherproof. The use of suitable pigments prolongs colors, and choosing appropriate cross-linking chemicals produces a material with “excellent” eco-toxical properties and PAH values under 1 mg/kg. The thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) are the very latest development in the field of infill granules. It can be made to specified elasticity and flame-retardant. This infill material has low wear and high elasticity, and its thermoplastic properties enable it to be recycled.

No. 07] Banned in Sweden! The government of Sweden has banned the use of recycled tires in artifical turf. This progressive measure is being matched by the manufacturers in Germany, where more and more of the rubber used in synthetic turf is virgin rubber. In the United States there are no regulations as yet to ban the use of recycled tires; however, there are strict regulations governing the disposal and/or incineration of tires.
The following pages reproduced here below contain the background and conclusions of the Chemicals Inspectorate of Sweden. [Click here for the full PDF version].

The Norwegian Building Research Institute (NBI) carried out a study of potential health and environmental effects linked to artificial turf systems on behalf of the Norwegian soccer federation. The study covered three types of rubber granulate made from recycled rubber, one EPDM rubber granulate and two artificial turf fibers, which are in use in the Nordic region. The rubber granulates and artificial turf fibers were analyzed with regard to the total content of arsenic, cadmium, copper, chromium, mercury, nickel, zinc, PCB, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), phthalates and phenols. Leachate tests and degassing tests were also carried out.
The study found the following with respect to the artificial turf fibers. They contained copper, zinc, individual phthalates, 4-t-octylphenol and iso-nonyl-phenol. The concentration of zinc and copper complied with the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority's normative values for most sensitive land use for both fiber types. The leachate from the fibers contained zinc. The concentration was higher than the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority's limit for zinc in water with Environmental Quality Class V (very strongly polluted water), but lower than the permitted zinc concentration in Canadian drinking water. As the measured concentration of environmental toxins (with the exception of copper) in the artificial turf fibers was lower than in the rubber granulates, and the artificial turf fibers in any case constituted a much smaller proportion of the artificial turf system in terms of mass.
The study found the following with respect to the artificial turf fibers. The total analysis showed that the rubber granulates based on recycled rubber contain lead, cadmium, copper, mercury, zinc, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,  certain phthalates, 4-t-octylphenol and iso-nonylphenol. The total concentration of lead, cadmium, copper and mercury in the recycled rubber granulates was below the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority's normative values for most sensitive land use.
The total concentrations of zinc and PAH in the recycled rubber granulates exceeded the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority?s normative values for most sensitive land use. The concentrations of dibutylphthalate (DBP) and diisononylphthalate (DINP) exceeded the PNEC values for terrestrial life taken from the EU's program for risk assessment. The concentration of isononylphenol was above the limits specified for cultivated land in the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines.
The leachate from the recycled granulates contained, PAH, phthalates and phenols. The concentration of zinc indicated that the leachate water was placed in the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority's Environmental Quality Class V (very strongly polluted water), but is lower than the permissible zinc concentration in Canadian drinking water. The concentration of anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene and nonylphenols exceeded the limits for freshwater specified in the Canadian Environmental Quality Guidelines. An expanded risk assessment with an analysis of possible spreading paths and changes in leaching properties over time was found to be necessary in order to determine the degree to which the concentrations of zinc, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, phthalates and nonylphenols in the leachate are actually harmful to people and the environment.
The recycled rubber granulates gave off a significant number of alkylated benzenes in gaseous form. Trichloromethane and cis-1.2-dichlorethene were also found.
With the exceptions of chromium and zinc, EPDM rubber contained smaller quantities of hazardous substances than the recycled rubber types overall. It also gave off much smaller quantities of volatile organic compounds.
The report suggested that further investigations of artificial turf concentrate on the rubber crumb component of the field. It recommended that measurements be taken of air quality above artificial turf fields in order to determine whether air quality is satisfactory.

No. 03] Environmental impact of highway construction and repair materials on surface and ground waters. Case study: crumb rubber asphalt concrete, by M.F. Azizian, P.O. Nelson, P. Thayumanavan and K.J. Williamson

The practice of incorporating certain waste products into highway construction and repair materials (CRMs) has become more popular. These practices have prompted the National Academy of Science, National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) to research the possible impacts of these CRMs on the quality of surface and ground waters. State department of transportations (DOTs) are currently experimenting with use of ground tire rubber ( crumb rubber) in bituminous construction and as a crack sealer. Crumb rubber asphalt concrete (CR-AC) leachates contain a mixture of organic and metallic contaminants. Benzothiazole and 2(3H)-benzothiazolone (organic compounds used in tire rubber manufacturing) and the metals mercury and aluminum were leached in potentially harmful concentrations (exceeding toxic concentrations for aquatic toxicity tests). CR-AC leachate exhibited moderate to high toxicity for algae ( Selenastrum capriconutum) and moderate toxicity for water fleas ( Daphnia magna). Benzothiazole was readily removed from CR-AC leachate by the environmental processes of soil sorption, volatilization, and biodegradation. Metals, which do not volatilize or photochemically or biologically degrade, were removed from the leachate by soil sorption. Contaminants from CR-AC leachates are thus degraded or retarded in their transport through nearby soils and ground waters. Source: The authors are affiliated with Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon. The lead-author, Azizian is with Department of Civil Construction and Environmental Engineering at Oregon State University (e-mail: Mohammad.Azizian@oregonstate.edu). On the web the foregoing abstract is available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=14522190&dopt=Abstract.

No. 02] A Colorado study entitled “A Case Study of Tire Crumb Use on Playgrounds: Risk Analysis and Communication When Major Clinical Knowledge Gaps Exist,” by Mark E. Anderson, Katherine H. Kirkland, Tee L. Guidotti, and Cecile Rose, and published in Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 114, no. 1 (January 2006) admits that there exists a serious gap in the risk assessment of rubberized playground surfaces, which use rubber crumb from recycled tires. For the full length report in PDF format click here.
 

No. 01] Ten  Cate Thiolon Product Advisory [Excerpts]. Click here for full PDF version 
Rubber infill is an important component of an artificial turf system. It affects a sport’s technical characteristics as well as the performance of the artificial turf field itself. According to Thiolon advisory, “It can also be a hazard for the UV stability and durability of the artificial turf fibers.” Mainly 2 kinds of rubber are used for artificial turf systems, virgin EPDM rubber and regenerated (recycled) SBR rubber.
The processing oil can leach out of the rubber. In laboratory tests, these oils can be extracted from the rubber. Apart from the extracted quantity, the type of extracted (leachable) component is also important. Tests in the Thiolon laboratory showed that SBR rubber showed a weight decrease of 5.3% after extraction. The extracted material is brown and consists of aromatic and naphthenic oil. The EPDM rubber showed a weight decrease of 9.6% after extraction. The extracted material is transparent and consists purely of paraffin oil. Chemicals within rubber infill materials could affect the UV stability of (non LSR) artificial grass fibers, especially that of PP fibers.
Wear and powdering. Both EPDM and SBR rubber are originally manufactured for different use. Car tires are manufactured to resist extensive and long use. EPDM infill material is made especially for the use in artificial grass. Consequently, SBR rubber has a higher resistance to wear and tear.
Morphology. Stud roll tests showed that baculiform particles generate more wear of the artificial grass [than] "normal" sherical particles. In order to judge the shape of rubber particles, we can calculate the "roundness." Roundness equals the samllest particle dimension over largest particle dimension.
Particle size distribution. Thiolon advises to use rubber particles that show a distribution of particle sizes between 0.25 and 3.0 mm. An infill rubber with these particle sizes can be considered as a good quality infill material. According to the advisory, “Particles smaller than 0.25 mm are considered as dust and can build a health risk.” Source: Ten Cate Thiolon Product Advisory: Requirements of rubber infill materials (Issue 2005-02) -- PAThiolon@tencate.com, www.tencate.com, www.thilon-grass.com.

No. 00] Hazardous waste --a pictorial. The pictures below depict "how not to dispose of trash" that is associated with turf fields. The picture of migrating rubber crumb was taken under the bleachers located some ten feet away from the field itself. Coyote look-a likes do not work to keep the geese and other pooping birds away from turf fields. The dogs chasing the birds away seems to be the best way to stop birds from visiting and soiling the fields. But as long a there is natural grass strips and approaches to a turf field, the geese and ducks and seagulls may visit.