www.SynTurf.org

[No. 87] Benoit & Demars: Results demonstrate that recycled tire materials contain and can release a wide variety of substances known to be toxic, and caution would argue against their use where human exposure is likely. May 2018.

[No. 77] Study from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) shows crumb rubber PAHs transferring readily to water and air. May 2018.

[No. 76] Oslo, Norway – Environment Minister wants rules designed to reduce the spread of “microplastic” from artificial turf. March 2018.

[No. 75] San Mateo, California - Civil Grand Jury calls for pause on fake turf crumb rubber at schools. August 2017.

[No. 74] Dundee, Scotland – European Chemical (Ch) Agency (ECHA) is considering a ban on use of crumb rubber in artificial soccer fields amid cancer fears. August 2017.

[No. 73] Juneau, Alaska – Playground with rubber mulch goes up in thick black smoke. June 2017.

[No. 72] Central City, Kentucky – Rubber tire mulch warehouse goes up in smoke; second rubber fire in as many years. June 2017.

[No. 71] Duluth, Minnesota – Parent: My daughter was covered from head to toe in black dust! June 2017.

[No. 70] Minneapolis, Minnesota – City prohibits the use of City funds for the installation or replacement of any facilities or amenities using waste tires, including the use of waste tire crumb rubber and waste tire mulch. May 2017.

[No. 69] Fort Jones, California – Scott Valley Unified School District has voted to remove the shredded tire mulch from both elementary schools. May 2017.

[No. 68] Duluth, Minnesota - Results from two eighth graders’ scientific research validates School Board’s decision to rid the playgrounds of tire mulch. May 2017.

[No. 67] Free University Amsterdam Study: Rubber granules in fact release chemicals that may cause harmful effects in humans; they do kill zebrafish embryos. March 2017.

[No. 66] Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Amsterdam says no to crumb rubber, no matter what an ongoing study will conclude. January 2017.

[No. 65] Research study finds at high temperatures of artificial athletic field surfaces the crumb rubber infill can become the source of a water soluble agent with mutagenic potential. December 2016.

[No. 64] Dutch clubs are up in arms over crumb rubber! November 2016.

[No. 63] The Feds announce their research protocol for crumb rubber. October 2016.

[No. 62] Duluth, Minnesota – School district ditches rubber mulch. September 2016.

[No. 61] Sea Cliff, long Island, New York – North Shore School District on Long Island says no to rubber mulch in playgrounds. Augusdt 2016.

[No. 60] European Commission is to look into health risks of playing on crumb rubber infill. July 2016.

[No. 59] Baylor/Rice Study: Carbon black is not good for the lungs. June 2016.

No. 58 No matter the language, crumb rubber artificial turf fields sounds nasty in any tongue. April 2016.

No. 57 U.S. Federal Research on Recycled Tire Crumbs Used on Playing Fields. March 2016.

No. 56 Details of Yale University’s Metal Analysis of Crumb Rubber Infill and Playground Mulch (2015).  March 2016.

No. 55 European Union is looking into legislation to restrict the use of crumb rubber in artificial turf fields. March 2016.

No. 54 Hartford, Connecticut: New Zoning Code bans crumb rubber and other synthetic infills from artificial turf landscapes. February 2016.

No. 53 Washington, DC: US Senators Blumenthal and Nelson ask POTUS to initiate a comprehensive study into the potential health risks posed by crumb rubber playing surfaces. February 2016.

No. 52 Linda Chalker-Scott on toxicity of rubber mulch made from used tires. January 2016.

No. 51 Empire State Consumer Project’s  2015 Children’s Products Safety Report re-raises concern over use of crumb rubber infill in athletic fields and rubber mulch in gardens and on playgrounds. January 2016.

 

 

[No. 87] Benoit & Demars: Results demonstrate that recycled tire materials contain and can release a wide variety of substances known to be toxic, and caution would argue against their use where human exposure is likely. Gaboury Benoit and Sara Demars, Evaluation of Organic and Inorganic Compounds Extractable by Multiple Methods from Commercially Available Crumb Rubber Mulch, Journal of Water Air Soil Pollution [Water Air Soil Pollut] 229:64 (2018). First Online: 12 February 2018. Via https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11270-018-3711-7 . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-018-3711-7 .

Prof. Benoit is Grinstein Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Co-Director of the Hixon Center for Urban Ecology at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, with a Bachelor of Science degree from Yale University and M.S. and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology-Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Sara Demars is a former Research Assistant at Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies.

Abstract: Recycled tires are often shredded for use in a variety of consumer-related products. The rubber so used may contain a number of compounds known to be deleterious to human and environmental health. We obtained nine samples of shredded tire material sold over the counter to the general public for home use, as well as six samples used for infill in synthetic turf athletic fields. After thorough cleaning and grinding, samples were extracted with either organic solvent (dichloromethane), strong acid, or simulated acid rain, or allowed to degas passively. Compounds released by these multiple methods were then identified, and in some cases quantified. Solvent extraction yielded 92 separate compounds, of which only about half have been tested for human health effects. Of these, nine are known carcinogens and another 20 are recognized irritants, including respiratory irritants that may complicate asthma. Strong acid extraction released measurable amounts of Pb and Cd and relatively large amounts of Zn. These three metals were specifically targeted for analysis, and others may be present as well, but were unmeasured. Simulated acid rain extracted only Zn in significant quantities. Passive volatilization yielded detectable amounts of 11 compounds. Results demonstrate that recycled tire materials contain and can release a wide variety of substances known to be toxic, and caution would argue against their use where human exposure is likely.

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[No. 77] Study from the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) shows crumb rubber PAHs transferring readily to water and air. Maria Celeiro [PhD in Analytical Chemistry, University of Santiago de Compostela - USC Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Bromatology], Thierry Dagnac [Xunta de Galicia · Agricultural and Agronomic Research Centre (CIAM) -  Xunta de Galicia - Santiago de Compostela, Spain], and Maria Llompart [University of Santiago de Compostela - USC Department of Analytical Chemistry, Nutrition and Food Sciences] have authored a study titled, Determination of priority and other hazardous substances in football fields of synthetic turf by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry: A health and environmental concern - 

Received 6 September 2017, Revised 7 December 2017, Accepted 10 December 2017, Available online 11 December 2017 - Chemosphere - Volume 195, March 2018, Pages 201-211 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2017.12.063  - The following is the The following is the study’s Abstract as published at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653517320349 (here):

Due to the high concern generated in the last years about the safety of recycled tire rubber used for recreational sports surfaces, this study aims at evaluating the presence of forty organic compounds including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, adipates, vulcanisation additives and antioxidants in recycled tire crumb of synthetic turf football fields.

Ultrasound Assisted Extraction (UAE) was successfully employed to extract the target compounds from the crumb rubber, and analysis was performed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS).

The transfer of the target chemicals from the crumb rubber to the runoff water and to the air above the rubber surface has also been evaluated employing solid-phase microextraction (SPME).

Samples from fifteen football fields were analysed, and the results revealed the presence of 24 of the 40 target compounds, including 14 of the 16 EPA PAHs, with total concentrations up to 50 μg g−1. Heavy metals such as Cd, Cr and Pb were also found. A partial transfer of organic compounds to the air and runoff water was also demonstrated. The analysis of rain water collected directly from the football field, showed the presence of a high number of the target compounds at concentrations reaching above 100 μg L−1. The environmental risk arising from the burning of crumb rubber tires has been assessed, as well, analysing the crumb rubber, and the air and water in contact with this material, showing a substantial increase both of the number and concentration of the hazardous chemicals.

According to an article on Chemical Watch, 5 April 2018, based on the aforementioned study, “[p]olyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in rubber crumb, used in synthetic turf for sports pitches, quickly transfer into rain water and air, according to research by scientists in Spain. Transfer to other media increases the geographic range over which exposures might occur and potentially opens up new routes of exposure. The safety of rubber crumb is under consideration by regulators in the US and the EU, with major publications expected on the subject in the next few months. The Spanish research could bolster the case for stricter controls on use of the material, which is produced by grinding up old vehicle tyres. The scientists, led by Maria Llompart Vizoso at the University of Santiago de Compostela, constructed a list of 40 target substances based on previous work. The list comprised: 16 PAHs; 15 phthalates; three adipates; three vulcanisation additives; two antioxidants; and bisphenol A. They collected rubber samples from 15 synthetic turf football fields, built between 2009 and 2011, in the Santiago de Compostela region. They then used ultrasound assisted extraction (UAE) and gas-chromatography, mass spectrometry (GC-MS) to separate and measure the component substances. They also analysed the transfer of substances to rain water and air, using samples from two of the sites. The material samples contained 24 of the target substances, and 13 transferred to the rain water, with vulcanisation additive BTZ detected at a concentration of 120milligrammes per litre (mg/L). And several transferred to the air. The scientists also found heavy metals, including cadmium, chromium and lead, in the material samples.

Three US federal agencies, including the EPA, launched a joint action plan [ https://chemicalwatch.com/register?o=45265&productID=1&layout=main ] on the safety of rubber crumb in 2016. That plan is due to deliver its draft report for external peer review this spring, followed by a final report mid-year.

Meanwhile in the EU, the Netherlands is preparing a proposal   [ https://chemicalwatch.com/register?o=55434&productID=1&layout=main ] to restrict the use of 8 PAHs in rubber crumb for synthetic turf under REACH. A submission to Echa is expected by 20 July. Professor Llompart Vizoso says that that EU-level action on the material, such as the intended Dutch proposal, is urgently needed.

Source:  “Crumb rubber PAHs transfer to water and air, study suggests - EU and US publications on material due in months,” 5 April 2018, at https://chemicalwatch.com/65682/crumb-rubber-pahs-transfer-to-water-and-air-study-suggests

 

 

[No. 76] Oslo, Norway – Environment Minister wants rules designed to reduce the spread of “microplastic” from artificial turf. According to an article on Chemical Watch, a publication of CW Research Ltd. (United Kingdom) (20 February 2018), “Norway’s climate and environment minister has asked for proposals for rules to be drawn up to reduce the spread of microplastic from artificial turf used in sports facilities. Rubber granulate from artificial turf grains is an important source of microplastic emissions in Norway, Ola Elvestuen said in a statement on 19 February. New rules could 'significantly reduce emissions' he added. Mr Elvestuen has already met with the culture minister and the Norwegian Football Association to review the situation. The plan is to draw up the rules before the end of the year.” A copy of the statement is accessible here.  Source: “Norway planning rules on emissions from artificial turf microplastics,” on Chemical Watch, 20 February 2018, at https://chemicalwatch.com/64144/norway-planning-rules-on-emissions-from-artificial-turf-microplastics .

SynTurf.org Note: Minister Elvestuen’s concern regarding the pollution emanating from artificial turf fields came in the context of the publication in January 2018 of report by the Norwegian Polar Institute that found alarming amount of “plastic in all sizes” throughout the Norwegian Arctic with harmful effect on wildlife and the environment. The Report (Norwegian Polar Institute, Brief Report 045) by Ingeborg G. Hallanger and Geir W. Gabrielsen is titled Plastic in the European Arctic (2018) .

According to a news report on EcoWatch (9 February 2018), Minister Elvestuen has stated that “[t]The results are disturbing. It is important that we get the fisheries, aquaculture industry and shipping industry on this. We also need to get control of microplastic that comes from artificial turf and car tires.” The EcoWatch piece also quoted Bo Eide, an environment consultant who often conducts litter pickups on the Arctic fjords, saying to BBC that Norway’s plastic flood comes from all over Europe and even from across the Atlantic. “You can throw a thing from the ocean in Florida and think, ‘Hey, I’ve thrown it away’ and then it might end up here on our shores. [The plastic] rather quickly break down into small pieces and even tiny little fibers. I think the coastline as a whole ... you can characterize it as a microplastic factory. It’s so obvious that what we are doing here is the tip of the tip of the iceberg." Source: Lorraine Chow, “‘Plastic in All Sizes' Found Everywhere in Once Pristine European Arctic,” on EcoWatch, 9 February 2018, at https://www.ecowatch.com/arctic-plastic-pollution-2532782515.html . For a copy of the the NPI report please go to herehttps://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/handle/11250/2478285/Kortrapport45.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y  or click here.

[No. 75] San Mateo, California - Civil Grand Jury calls for pause on fake turf crumb rubber at schools. The ‘Grand jury’ in this story is not like the ones you convened in episodes of Law & Order. The San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury is a judicial body composed of 19 citizens. It is impaneled to act as an “arm” of the Superior Court, as authorized by the State Constitution, to be a voice of the people and conscience of the community. It aims to o identify and investigate matters of import for the county. A judge reviews applications for the jury, and the process is meant to be objective. Refer to http://www.sanmateocourt.org/court_divisions/grand_jury/ for more information.

Any how – According to a news story in Daily Journal (11 July 2017), in a report issued on 10 July 2017 “[t]he grand jury is recommending … that school districts stop using artificial turf derived of recycled rubber tires until an ongoing study by the Environmental Protection Agency provides further data on the health effects of using tire-derived products on athletic fields or until they write decision-making guidelines that take the safety, cost and suitability of a materials used to create artificial turf into account. With some investigations revealing the presence of lead and other toxins in tire-derived turf, questions about whether the material could be related to cases of cancer and other negative health effects have swirled among education communities, according to the report. The jury’s recommendations are meant to stall use of the turf until conflicting reports and ongoing studies can better inform district officials’ decision-making.” Source: Anna Schuessler, “Grand jury calls for pause on fake turf at schools - Report details need for turf choice guidelines and further study,” in Daily Journal, 11 July 2017, at https://www.smdailyjournal.com/news/local/grand-jury-calls-for-pause-on-fake-turf-at-schools/article_3b80602c-65f5-11e7-a820-27f0cf88c610.html . For the Civil Grand Jury report titled “Should Tire-Derived Products Be Used On Athletic Fields In San Mateo County Schools?,” please go to http://www.sanmateocourt.org/documents/grand_jury/2016/tire.pdf or click here.

 

[No. 74] Dundee, Scotland – European Chemical (Ch) Agency (ECHA) is considering a ban on use of crumb rubber in artificial soccer fields amid cancer fears. 1 August 2017. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the ECHA is an agency of the European Union which manages the technical, scientific and administrative aspects of the implementation of the EU regulation called Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH). Among its various charges is addressing chemicals of concern.

According to a news report in the Sunday Post (31 July 2017), “[t]he European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is considering outlawing rubber crumb, which has a high level of carcinogens.” “The move has been proposed by Dutch boffins [people engaged in scientific or technical research] after a number of studies questioned the safety of rubber crumb, which is shredded old car tyres. The Sunday Post was the first publication outside the US to highlight concerns over the black granules. There have been concerns the rubber crumb has led to cancer clusters among young footballers – especially goalkeepers as they dive more often on to the surface and stoop or kneel to collect the ball. The fears come from the fact the substance contains a number of toxic chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mercury, lead and arsenic in higher concentrations than other substances.” “There are a number of alternatives to rubber crumb but they are, usually, more expensive.” Source: Gordon Blackstock, “Artificial pitches: Europe to consider ban after cancer fear,” in Sunday Post, 31 July 2017, at https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/artificial-pitches-europe-to-consider-ban-after-cancer-fear/ .

This is the third of a series of article published by Sunday Post . One article titled “Fresh fears over plastic pitches causing cancer as lab tests reveal carcinogens,” at https://www.sundaypost.com/news/fresh-fears-over-plastic-pitches-causing-cancer-lab-tests-reveal-carcinogens/ teased “CANCER causing chemicals DO lurk in artificial football pitches according to lab tests ordered by The Sunday Post.” Another, titled “Sunday Post investigation into links between artificial pitches and cancer causes a storm around the world,” at https://www.sundaypost.com/news/scottish-news/sunday-post-investigation-into-links-between-artificial-pitches-and-cancer-causes-a-storm-around-the-world/ focused on “THE US coach at the centre of a synthetic pitch cancer scare has been swamped with calls from worried British families.”

[No. 72] Central City, Kentucky – Rubber tire mulch warehouse goes up in smoke; second rubber fire in as many years.  According to a news report on Channel 14 TV   (NBC affiliate in Evansville, Indiana – WFIE) (25 April 2017), “[f]ire crews worked hours to contain a fire at a rubber mulch company right outside of Central City. This isn't the first time they've had a fire at Re-Tek. Last year, a fire destroyed one of the company's warehouses. Investigators ruled that blaze undetermined. Now, crews are seeing the same story play out at the company's other warehouse across the street. The fire broke out around 3:00 AM [Tuesday, 25 April]. Employees noticed the fire and called 9-1-1. When fire crews rounded the corner on Cleaton Rd, they knew they had a big job on their hands. ‘We try to compose ourselves and come up with a game plan of what's the best thing to,’ Captain for the Central City Fire Department, Brandon Divine, said. The Re-Tek warehouse was engulfed in flames. Crews spent all morning trying to control the fire, but the rubber mulch didn't help. ‘It's very hard to put out. It contains a lot of heat. A lot of times, it will spontaneously combust when it creates it own heat,’ Captain Divine said. 10 hours later, the mulch was still burning. Big fires don't happen often in this area, but when they do, Fire Chief Ricky King says the fire teams are prepared…. Crews say they'll be working well into the night.” Source: Shaelie Clark, “Fire destroys Re-Tek warehouse in Central City,” on Channel 14 TV (NBC affiliate in Evansville, Indiana - WFIE ), 25 April 2017, at http://www.14news.com/story/35247085/fire-destroys-re-tek-warehouse-in-central-city 

[No. 71] Duluth, Minnesota – Parent: My daughter was covered from head to toe in black dust! The following is a parent’s “Reader’s View” letter by Brook Johnson published in Duluth News Tribune, 20 May 2017, at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/opinion/4270650-readers-view-immoral-not-replace-rubber-mulch  :

In response to the News Tribune's May 11 editorial on rubber mulch on elementary school playgrounds (Our View: "Take step back on rubber mulch"), I am writing my very first letter to the editor.

Just recently I picked up my daughter from school, and she was covered from head to toe in black dust. It was on her clothes and all exposed skin, including her face, arms, hands, and legs. She looked like a coal miner. Less importantly, I now have rubber chips in my car and throughout my house.

Nobody can offer me a guarantee that the rubber mulch used on Duluth public school playgrounds is 100 percent safe.

Rather than "waiting for the science," as the editorial urged, the School Board should consider removing the mulch as a preventative measure: $1.2 million is a drop in the bucket compared to what could happen if an entire generation of kids and their families sues the district should it be proven that prolonged exposure to the rubber caused cancer or another illness.

Kids already know they should wash their hands, as the editorial also reminded. Some do and some don't, but they're all breathing in the dust, and they can't wash all of it off at school.

Putting our kids' health at risk because it's too expensive to fix a mistake would be immoral and irresponsible.

SynTurf.org Note: In recent months there has been a heightened level of alarm and interest on the part of citizens and public officials about the adverse impact of crumb rubber infill and rubberized playing surfaces in the State of Minnesota. For recent postings about this topic re Minnesota on this site, see http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item Nos. 70, 68 and 62)

 

[No. 70] Minneapolis, Minnesota – City prohibits the use of City funds for the installation or replacement of any facilities or amenities using waste tires, including the use of waste tire crumb rubber and waste tire mulch. On 14 April 2017, by a vote of 12 yes, 0 no, and one absent, the City Council of the City of Minneapolis adopted Resolution 2017R-174, which “prohibits the use of City funds, (not including City funds transferred to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board under the 20 Year Neighborhood Park Plan Agreement Ordinance), in the form of grants or direct appropriations to city- or community-led projects, for the installation or replacement of any facilities or amenities using waste tires, including the use of waste tire crumb rubber and waste tire mulch.” Furthermore, the Resolution directs “the Minneapolis Health Department to “consider and make recommendations about conducting an inventory of all fields and playgrounds in the City that use waste tires including those located at places of worship, private schools, day care centers, etc. in Minneapolis. This should include partnering with other organizations that may be undertaking this work. The inventory should include location, approximate square footage, and estimated usage.” Additionally, the Resolution directs the Minneapolis Health Department to “make recommendations regarding the precautions people should take who may use or play on these fields and playgrounds considering water contamination, exposure to toxins, and exposure to intense heat,” in connection with which the department is directed to consider “[r]equirements that facility operators and/or owners post health and safety information and/or provide health and safety education materials to field and playground users” and “[a] public awareness effort for users and property owners about the best safety precautions that can be taken as to limit or prevent exposure to and ingestion of toxins as well as health concerns related to the heat effects.”

In a separate action, by the same margin of votes, the Council adopted Action 2017A-0306, which “directs Finance Department staff to work with Minneapolis Public Schools and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to identify the cost of the removal of waste tire mulch from existing facilities; directing Finance staff to identify possible sources of City funding that could be used to help and to bring forward a proposal to Council, consistent with City processes, for consideration no later than July 1, 2017. The proposal should specify whether partner organizations have taken formal action to prohibit further purchase and use of waste tire products.” 

The text of the Resolution and Council’s Action are contained in pages 382-385 of Council Proceedings (agenda/minutes) of 14 April 2017 at http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/www/groups/public/@council/documents/proceedings/wcmsp-197767.pdf or go here.

For background information on this historic undertaking see the Proceedings of the Operations and Environment Committee of the City of Council and its attachments at  http://minneapolisparksmn.iqm2.com/Citizens/FileOpen.aspx?Type=1&ID=1685&Inline=True or go here.

The most significant aspect of the Resolution is the legislative recognition and acknowledgement of the scientifically established concerns with the use of crumb rubber infill on playing fields and of tire rubber mulch in playgrounds. Predicated on the belief that “[t]he public has a right to a healthful environment and to be free of the health and environmental hazards posed by the chemical exposures and other dangers from recycled waste tire mulch and crumb, the Resolution listed the following findings in the form of Resolution’s “whereas clauses”:

The use of waste tire mulch on playgrounds and as infill on playing fields can result in regular, long-term exposure to potentially hazardous substances through inhalation, ingestion, and absorption through the skin.

Synthetic turf and waste tire crumb rubber has been documented to become significantly hotter than natural grass and even asphalt because it absorbs solar radiation and can reach temperatures as high as 170 degrees Fahrenheit, which puts children at greater risk for dehydration, heat stress, heat stroke, and burns.

Waste tires contain hazardous substances, including heavy metals such as zinc, cadmium, and lead that leach from the material as they degrade, contaminating the soil, plants, and aquatic systems and harming aquatic life such as algae and fish.

As tire mulch and crumb heats up, it releases potential toxic gases and chemicals such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs).

Parents have reported children putting pieces of tire much in their mouths, and tire dust on children’s clothes, skin, and inside their nostrils after playing on these surfaces, and

On June 10, 2015, a study by the Environment and Human Health, an organization of physicians and public health professionals, found 96 chemicals in the rubber tire infill used in synthetic turf and rubber tire mulch used as surfacing in playgrounds.

Of the 96 chemicals detected, a little under a half have had no toxicity assessments done on them for their health effects and the other half have had some toxicity testing done on them, but even many of those chemicals had incomplete toxicity testing and therefore all health effects are not fully known.

Of the half of those chemicals that have had toxicity assessments, 20% are known to be probable carcinogens; 40% were found to be irritants; 24% are respiratory irritants, some of which are known to cause asthma symptoms; 37% are skin irritants; and 27% are eye irritants.

The October 2015 Scrap Tire Mulch on Duluth Public Schools’ Playgrounds report indicated that 12 of the 13 chemicals found in a tested sample of waste tire playground mulch are listed by the Minnesota Department of Health as “chemicals of high concern,” and included barium, chromium, lead, zinc, anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benzo(b)flouranthene, chrysene, flouanthene, phenanthrene, pyrene and methyl isobutyl ketone.

In May 2016, in a memo on the hazards to children’s health of using recycled tires in athletic fields, the Dean of Global Health of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and author of the textbook Children’s Environmental Health, Philip J. Landrigan concluded that, “the use of recycled waste tires for playground mulch and crumb rubber athletic field infill potentially puts the health of children and athletics at risk.”

The Resolution’s preamble also made reference to some recent developments in various venues with regard to moving away from waste tire infill and mulch. They include the following:

In May of 2016, the Edina Energy and Environment Commission voted to condemn the use of crumb rubber in Edina.

In June 2016, the Duluth School Board voted unanimously to replace the waste tire mulch used on most district elementary school playgrounds by the start of the 2017-2018 school year.

Two bills, House File 3496 (HF3496) and Senate File 3108 (SF3108), have been introduced in the Minnesota State Legislature to establish a moratorium on the use of waste tire mulch and crumb rubber on any new construction of public parks and school playgrounds until 2019, and requiring signage on public parks and school playgrounds already utilizing the material to educate users on ways to reduce exposure.

In both 2008 and 2016 the Public Health Advisory Committee and the Community Environmental Advisory Committee, at the request of the City Council, studied the use of waste tires.

On April 12, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board approved a resolution (ID # 3505) Committing Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board to Several Actions Related to Waste Tire Products, Including Consideration of Alternative Materials in New and Rehabilitated Synthetic Turf Fields; Reporting to the Health, Environment, and Community Engagement Committee of the City of Minneapolis During Athletic Field Project Scoping; Researching Alternatives to Poured-In-Place Playground Surfacing; and Installation of Signs at Synthetic Turf Athletic Fields.

 

[No. 69] Fort Jones, California – Scott Valley Unified School District has voted to remove the shredded tire mulch from both elementary schools. The Scott Valley Scott Valley Unified School District serves one of the northernmost areas of California. Etna High School, Scott Valley Junior High, Etna Elementary School, Fort Jones Elementary School and Scott River High School comprise the District, which serves also the students in Forks of Salmon School District. The communities served by the School District are Fort Jones, Quartz Valley, Greenview, Etna, and Callahan. According District Secretary Julie Hogun, on 19 April 2017, the five-member School Board voted to have the shredded tire mulch removed from Etna and Fort Jones elementary school playgrounds. The vote was 4 Yeses and one abstention. The minutes of the Board action will be posted on the District’s website (www.svusd.us) (http://www.svusd.us/Agendas.asp) after they are approved at the Board’s May 17th meeting.

 

[No. 68] Duluth, Minnesota - Results from two eighth graders’ scientific research validates School Board’s decision to rid the playgrounds of tire mulch. Seagate Technology Rising Star Award recognizes emerging scientists in defined categories. According to a news article in Duluth News Tribune (17 April 2017), this year, Erin Coleman and Teagan Flynn, two eighth graders from Ordean East Middle School were awarded the prestigious award at the Minnesota state science fair for their research into “potential toxicity of rubber mulch used on playgrounds, fields and in gardens.” According to the article, the award “recognizes students whose research shows a high level of understanding of the scientific process.” Coleman and Flynn were given $1,500 and will present their project to Seagate, the international company that judged them and gave the award. They also scored in the top 15 percent of all projects at the fair, including those of high school students.

According to the article, Coleman & Flynn “were studying the issue long before it became a conversation with the Duluth School Board, which ultimately decided this winter to rid the district’s playgrounds of the material after parental advocacy.” Last year, they “studied the effects of mulch residue on plant life. This year they used daphnia, an aquatic invertebrate. In both projects they found the residue to be destructive.” According to Coleman, the “[t]ire chips [purchased from a store and gathered from the Lester Park Elementary playground] are definitely harmful to daphnia.” The daphnia were “exposed to the residue rinsed from the mulch … [and the] data suggests that the residue, or leachate, from the new, store-bought mulch had the most damaging effect on the daphnia, but the residue from the older, weathered Lester Park mulch also killed to a lesser degree. There was a control group exposed to nothing that had the smallest mortality rate.” “I think tire chips should stop being used on playgrounds, and especially around little kids, who like to eat them,” Coleman said.

According to Annette Strom who runs the science club at Ordean East, the students “worked on their project after school through the club, during lunch and in a school advisory period. Their work is advanced… The students likely won because they did what scientists do: They came up with new questions following one experiment, which led them to a new one … And when they questioned their results, they repeated it….They went above and beyond… That’s what real scientists do.” According to the article, “[t]he students did 24-hour tests in December and in January. When the January result was different than that of December’s, they wanted to know why.

Liz Minor, with [University of Minnesota at Duluth]’s Large Lakes Observatory, helped them conclude that the amount of sunlight absorbed played a part in lessening the harmful effects. ‘I was very impressed,’ Minor said, of the work Coleman did in her lab. Coleman said that even if the residue becomes less harmful over time, the immediate damage it does means it’s still bad for the environment. ‘Daphnia are at the bottom of the food chain,’ she said. ‘So if the daphnia are dying off, there is less food for other fish and things that eat them, which affects the entire food chain.’”

According to the article, “Kevin Flynn, Teagan Flynn’s father and a biologist for the Environmental Protection Agency in Duluth, provided the daphnia. Speaking as Teagan’s father, he said, he was impressed with a project that is not only interesting scientifically, but also relevant. ‘This has become a community-pushed issue and that brings interesting dynamics,’ he said. ‘The level of concern means your level of science is scrutinized a bit more. It’s interesting that Teagan and Erin have kind of found themselves in the middle of this.’” Source: Jana Hollingsworth, Ordean East students follow scientific process to success with rubber mulch study,” in Duluth News Tribune, 17 April 2017, at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/education/4252330-ordean-east-students-follow-scientific-process-success-rubber-mulch-study

 

[No. 67] Free University Amsterdam Study: Rubber granules in fact release chemicals that may cause harmful effects in humans; they do kill zebrafish embryos. Zambla TV is a Dutch television documentary program produced in association with VARA (an acronym that once stood for Vereeniging van Arbeiders Radio Amateurs = Association of Worker Radio Amateurs). VARA Broadcasting Association is a Dutch public broadcasting association that operates within the framework of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting system.

On 13 February 2017, Zambla TV documentary, entitled “Dangerous play – The sequel,”  reported that following its documentary past October [2016] on potential health hazards associated with playing on artificial turf with rubber infill, the Dutch health minister Schippers lost little time commissioning the RIVM (Netherlands’ National Institute for Public Health and the Environment) to investigate the matter. In mid-December [2016], RIVM stated that artificial grass was perfectly safe: The harmful chemicals inside the rubber granules, which are made from old car tires, were released at such low levels that the risk is negligible, the RIVM ruled. So the ‘all clear’ signal was issued. According to Zambla TV parental concerns over crumb rubber persisted and so Zambla “decide[d] to look into the matter, to see if the book on the hazards of using rubber granules for artificial grass pitches should indeed be closed.” Go  to http://zembla.vara.nl/dossier/uitzending/dangerous-play-the-sequel or here.

On 15 February 2017, Zambla published/boardcast the results of a study undertaken by scientists at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (Free/Independent University of Amsterdam) which according to Zambla concluded that “rubber granules in fact release chemicals which may cause harmful effects in humans. Exclusively for ZEMBLA, VU scientists present the results of studies on juvenile zebrafish and zebrafish embryos exposed to water previously loaded with rubber granules: the embryos died, while the fishes showed evidence of behavioural changes. Jacob de Boer, research leader and professor of Environmental Chemistry and Toxicology, argues that their test outcomes are at odds with the RIVM findings. At the end of last year, the RIVM had reached the conclusion that it was safe to sport on rubber infill surfaces. De Boer: “According to the RIVM, the chemicals are embedded in the granules. This is not what we found. Chemicals are in fact released, and that is an essential finding. So if they say: we can close the book on this matter because the PAHs will never be released, they are cutting corners….. Following the outcomes of the VU research, professor De Boer advised against doing sports on artificial grass sports fields with rubber infill: “I wouldn’t do it myself. I would be very careful, simply because of what we found here.” When asked, De Boer replied he would not allow his children to play on rubber infill.”

According to the report, forty zebrafish embryos were exposed to water for 24 hours. To the surprise of the investigators, all 40 embryos died within five days. According to Professor De Boer if the fish eggs “fail to develop at all, you cannot help but feel something is very wrong here.”

According to Zambla TV, “[t]he research conducted by the VU’s Health & Environment Department also brought to light that juvenile fish (five days old larvae) exposed to water previously loaded with rubber granules showed hyperactive behaviour. The juvenile fish in the control group, which were swimming in normal water, did not show evidence of such behaviour.” According to VU toxicologist Jessica Legradi, who was a member of the research team: “You can imagine that it is a real concern if a particular chemical affects the brain, because in humans this may well cause epilepsy, ADHD or autism. Zebrafish are also used to study disorders such as autism and ADHD. And they are used in cancer research as well, because cancer in zebrafish develops in a similar way as in humans.”

For further details of the Zambla documentary go to Zambla TV, “Dutch university research shows: use of rubber infill for artificial grass should be avoided,” on Zambla TV, 15 February 2017, at http://zembla.vara.nl/nieuws/dutch-university-research-shows-use-of-rubber-infill-for-artificial-grass-should-be-avoided  or here. For preview of the documentary go to http://zembla.vara.nl/nieuws/proefdieronderzoek-vu-speel-niet-op-kunstgras-met-rubbergranulaat . For the documentary go to http://zembla.vara.nl/dossier/uitzending/gevaarlijk-spel-het-vervolg .

For earlier posts on Dutch concerns about crumb rubber, see items posted at http://www.synturf.org/health.html (Item No. 133) and at http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item Nos. 64 and 66).

[No. 66] Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Amsterdam says no to crumb rubber, no matter what an ongoing study will conclude. According to a news report in the NLTimes. nl (1 December 2016), “Amsterdam will not accept rubber granules in new artificial turf fields, no matter what the results of the RIVM [Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu] [a research agency of the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport] investigation  into whether or not these granules are hazardous to health. The people have lost confidence in the granules, sports alderman Eric van der Burg said during an emergency debate on the matter on Wednesday, Het Parool reports. The Dutch capital planned 10 new fields using rubber based artificial turf. But according to the alderman, unrest [ http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/14/ajax-scraps-rubber-artificial-turf-long-term-health-concerns ] among the parents of children who will play on these fields are so high that the construction must be halted. He is looking into using coconut or cork based fields. Van den Burg will wait for the results of the RIVM investigation before deciding whether the existing rubber artificial turf fields need to be replaced. According to the newspaper, Amsterdam has 78 artificial turf football fields that contain rubber granules. The Netherlands has around 2 thousand. Health service RIVM is expected to have the results of its investigation into the health risks of rubber granules made from recycled tires by the end of the year. The investigation was launched after a broadcast of Zembla in which experts stated that the rubber granules contain carcinogenic substances [ http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/05/health-concerns-raised-footballing-artificial-turf ] which may affect athletes who play on the artificial turf fields. Tire industry association VACO did its own, separate analysis  [ http://nltimes.nl/2016/10/21/tire-group-provide-free-carcinogen-tests-artificial-sports-turf     ] and found that 58 out of 60 artificial turf fields contain a higher concentration of carcinogenic substances [ http://nltimes.nl/2016/11/28/carcinogenics-almost-artificial-turfs-research ] than is allowed by consumer standards. But as artificial turf is not considered a consumer product, it is believed to be safe.” Source: Janene Pieters, “Amsterdam says no to rubber granules in artificial turf,” on NLTimes.nl, 1 December 2016, at http://nltimes.nl/2016/12/01/amsterdam-says-rubber-granules-artificial-turf

 

[No. 65] Research study finds at high temperatures of artificial athletic field surfaces the crumb rubber infill can become the source of a water soluble agent with mutagenic potential. According to the Abstract of Michael J. Dorsey, et al., “Mutagenic Potential of Artificial Athletic Field Crumb Rubber at Increased Temperatures,” in Ohio Journal of Science 115(2) 32-394 (August 2015):

Rubber tires contain several compounds that are known or suspected carcinogens. Many carcinogens are mutagens (Griffiths et al. 2000), and fluctuation assays based on the Ames test can be used as an initial screen for mutagenic potential. Granulated crumb rubber from recycled tires is commonly used in the creation of artificial athletic fields, and the surface temperature of these fields can reach levels far above the ambient temperature. In this study, crumb rubber samples taken directly from four separate artificial athletic field surfaces were used to make leachates using water at different temperatures. For each of these fields, leachates obtained in water at 70ºC showed significant mutagenic potential (p ≤ .001) in Salmonella typhimurium fluctuation assays. Leachates obtained in water at 40ºC showed no mutagenic potential for any of the fields tested. For one field, crumb rubber heated in water at temperatures as low as 50ºC resulted in significant mutagenic potential (p ≤ 0.001). Water used in an experiment designed to mimic the irrigation of an artificial athletic field also showed mutagenic potential (p ≤ 0.001) in a fluctuation assay. These results suggest that at the higher temperatures such as those on artificial athletic field surfaces, the crumb rubber infill on these artificial athletic fields can become the source of a water soluble agent with mutagenic potential in bacteria.

For the full text of the study go here.

[No. 64] Dutch clubs are up in arms over crumb rubber! Both on this page and the page titled “players’ view” http://www.synturf.org/playersview.html we have featured stories about players who disdain the artificial turf filed that they are made to play on. In one instance http://www.synturf.org/playersview.html (Item No. 59) we reported on French soccer players’ union calling for an end to play on synthetic turf. We have maintained since October 2014 that that the issue of playing on synthetic turf for the professional class athletes is a matter workplace occupational safety and health and should be regulated by OSHA and likewise regulatory agencies in other countries. See http://www.synturf.org/health.html (Item No. 94). 

“Football clubs cancel practices on artificial turf over health risk fears” read the headline of a 7 October 2016 article on MyInforms.com (based on reporting by the Dutch daily Algemeen Dagblad) when giving news of “[a] number of amateur football clubs are cancelling matches and practices on artificial turf fields after reports that they may contain carcinogenic substances” and the football “associations in Maarssen, Amersfoort and Zwijndrecht are refusing to play on artificial turf” and that the “[c]lubs in Eindhoven are considering closing the artificial turf fields.” The article went on to say that “[i]n Den Dolder a school stopped its students’ practice on the local club’s artificial field. And the city of Gorinchem suspended the construction of an artificial turf field.”

Why all the fuss? Because, according to the article, “[e]arlier [in the week] TV program Zembla [ http://zembla.vara.nl/ ] [had] reported that rubber granules used in 90 percent of the artificial turf fields in the Netherlands may be hazardous to the health of athletes. According to the program, the RIVM [Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu - National Institute for Health and Environment] did not properly investigate these granules and artificial turf has been linked to leukemia.” Source: “Football clubs cancel practices on artificial turf over health risk fears,” on MyIforms.com, 7 October 2016, at http://myinforms.com/en/a/42382708-football-clubs-cancel-practices-on-artificial-turf-over-health-risk-fears/ .

In the meantime, DutchNews.nl reported on 7 October 2016, reported that the “Dutch Health minister Edith Schippers has asked the public health institute RIVM to carry out research into the potential danger of taking part in sports on artificial turf. The minister was reacting to claims made by a television current affairs programme which said artificial grass could pose a health risk. Most hockey pitches in the Netherlands are artificial turf as are an increasing number of football pitches. Schippers told reporters that as a mother, she was shocked by the claims and wants to know what dangers children face before the end of the year. Professor Martin van den Berg, a toxicology specialist at Utrecht university, told the television programme Zembla that the grass should not be used until potential risks are clear. 'As a toxicologist, I say: I wouldn’t play on these fields because we cannot make a proper assessment of the risks,' he said. The KNVB Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond - Royal Dutch Football Association] football association has also said more needs to be done to investigate whether carcinogens in rubber granules made from old car tyres - used as infill in artificial turf - can end up in athletes’ bodies.” Source: Dutch News, “Dutch Minister calls for research into artificial turf health risks,” on DutchNews.nl, 7 October 2016, at http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/10/minister-calls-for-research-into-artificial-turf-health-risks/ .

No lesser among the clubs that reacted to the news that synthetic turf pitches left a lot to be desired was the iconic football club Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax, simply known as “Ajax,” based in Amsterdam. According to an article in The Netherlands News (14 October 2016), “Ajax decided to replace the artificial turf on four training fields in training complex De Toekomst. These turfs contain the much discussed rubber granules. And the Amsterdam team decided to rather remove the turfs as a precaution after a number of scientists expressed concerns about possible health risks to players, AD Algemeen Dagblad] reports. Minister Edith Schippers of Public Health and Sports asked health institute RIVM to re-examine whether rubber granules – made from old tires and said to contain carcinogenic substances – really do pose a health risk to athletes. The RIVM expects to have results by the end of the year. But Ajax decided not to wait for the results. The Amsterdam team is taking immediate action because their artificial turfs are used a lot more than those of amateur clubs. ‘W feel responsible for the players,’ a spokesperson said, according to the newspaper. Janene Pieters, “Ajax scraps rubber artificial turf over long-term health concerns,” in The Netherlands Times, 14 October 2016, at http://www.nltimes.nl/2016/10/14/ajax-scraps-rubber-artificial-turf-long-term-health-concerns/ . See also “Ajax to get rid of crumb rubber training pitches after health scare,” on DutchNews.nl, 14 October 2016, at  http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2016/10/ajax-to-get-rid-of-crumb-rubber-training-pitches-after-health-scare/ .

 

[No. 63] The Feds announce their research protocol for crumb rubber. On August 5, 2016 the Feds released the protocol for their research program into crumb rubber. The protocol is titled “Collections Related to Synthetic Turf Fields with Crumb Rubber Infill” and is issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. For a copy of the protocol go here. For an earlier post on the research program scroll down on this page to Item No. 57.

[No. 62] Duluth, Minnesota – School district ditches rubber mulch. According to a news report in  Duluth News Tribune  (8 August 2016), “[the Duluth School Board] will be asked to approve $18,500 in spending for a firm that will research design and construction options for the 10 playgrounds - eight elementary schools and both middle schools - that need mulch replacement. The board in June voted to replace rubber mulch with an alternative, following pleas from some parents who have researched the issue for months. It's an issue that has become controversial across the country, and federal agencies are conducting a comprehensive study on the toxicity of crumb rubber - found in the district's turf fields' infill, and the mulch used on the 10 playgrounds. But parents implored the board to make the change before the studies are complete, saying the precaution was necessary to protect kids in the face of too many things unknown about the material and its effects on young children. It could cost between $300,000 and $400,000 to replace the rubber mulch. The firm is expected to coordinate public meetings to help decide a replacement plan. The next step will be putting the project out to bid. All playgrounds are expected to have a new surface by the start of school in 2017. There is no plan to replace the district's four turf fields, which could cost up to $2 million.” Source: Jana Hollingsworth, “Duluth school district moving forward on plans to replace rubber,” in Duluth News Tribune, 8 August 2016, at http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/4090384-duluth-school-district-moving-forward-plans-replace-rubber-mulch

 

 

 

[No. 61] Sea Cliff, long Island, New York – North Shore School District on Long Island says no to rubber mulch in playgrounds. According to news re[ort on WABC (Channel 7 - (ABC affiliate in New York City), “It's a common sight on playgrounds across the Tri-State area: rubber pellets and mulch, meant to keep children safe. But could the material actually be harmful? One Long Island school district is taking action. ‘It's nice to walk on but we don't know what our kids are smelling or breathing,’ said Sea Cliff resident Mark Doherty. You know the smell of burning rubber? That's what the playground smells like. And it's not just that. ‘It gets on your skin and it turns your skin black and then you have to take a shower after,’ said Sea Cliff resident Jack Doherty. It's coming from rubber mulch, soft material made from shredded rubber products, mostly tires. The material is known to be toxic. ‘A number of cancer causing chemicals, a number of endocrine disrupting chemicals these are all in there,’ said Dr. Ken Spaeth of Northwell Health. Which is why the North Shore School district on Long Island is removing all of its rubber mulch playgrounds by the fall. Replacing them with wood chips. ‘It gives parents peace of mind, it gives us peace of mind and everyone is safe and everyone is happy,’ said Ed Melnick of North Shore schools. Source: Kristin Thorne, “Rubber mulch on LI children's playgrounds raising health concerns,” on WABC (Channel 7 - New York City), 12 July 2016, at  http://abc7ny.com/health/rubber-much-on-childrens-playgrounds-raising-health-concerns/1423800/

[No. 60] European Commission is to look into health risks of playing on crumb rubber infill. According to an article in The Irish Times (10 June 2016), “[t]he European Commission has formally made a request to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to assess whether the presence of cancer causing substances in recycled rubber granules used as infill in synthetic turf pitches poses a risk to human health. Football’s world governing body, Fifa, have also agreed to collaborate with the investigation. The ECHA is expected to finalise its preliminary evaluation by January 2017 and their conclusion and findings should be made public in February 2017. If the findings show there are health issues, it will also have significant financial implications for sporting clubs and recreation grounds which use the rubber. In Ireland infill is extensively used by GAA [Gaelic Athletic Association - for the Preservation and Cultivation of national Pastimes] soccer and rugby clubs…. The commission is following the line of the US Environmental Protection Agency, which earlier this year agreed to conduct a multi-agency investigation following public pressure and assertions from the scientific community that the rubber is hazardous…. Studies commissioned by the industry have shown the compound to be harmless, while independent studies in both the US and Europe claim the substances have potentially harmful effects. The ECHA explained in a statement that their preliminary investigation will seek to identify any hazardous substances including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), some of which are carcinogenic and already extensively restricted by EU legislation. The study will also assess the risk resulting from skin, oral and inhalation exposure to the substances, which are used in both open air and indoor sports grounds…. In the light of the discussion during the meeting on 8 March 2016 and the input received from Member States, there is a need to evaluate the risks potentially posed to human health by the presence of certain substances obtained from end-of-life tyres, which form part of the synthetic turf used in sports grounds. To assist with this evaluation, the Commission will forward to the Agency all relevant studies already in its possession that were conducted by Member States. Furthermore, ECHA should take into account relevant international and regional activities in this area, such as recent research actions on recycled tyre crumb used on playing fields, launched by the US-EPA.

The commission guidelines say risks to be evaluated should cover those of the general population as well professional athletes and those working in the industry. Based on the ECHA conclusions, the commission will consider the risk to health and, if there are concerns of significance, will set regulations to restrict the use of the rubber.” Source: Johnny Watterson, “European Commission to assess health risks of artificial pitches - Fifa to collaborate with chemical agency’s investigation of rubber infill in synthetic turf, in The Irish Times, 10 June 2016, at http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugby/european-commision-to-assess-health-risks-of-artifical-pitches-1.2678659 .

SynTurf.org Note: Get ready for another astroturfing of this issue by overreliance on pro-industry studies! What kind of a longitudinal study about the exposure to harmful substances can a commission/agency come up with in less than 6 months from now?!

 

[No. 59] Baylor/Rice Study: Carbon black is not good for the lungs. Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine, City of Hope National Medical Center, Rice University, and the US Department of Veterans Affairs have concluded that “Nanoparticulate carbon black in cigarette smoke induces DNA cleavage and Th17-mediated emphysema.” In a study by Ran You et al. state that “[c]hronic inhalation of cigarette smoke is the major cause of sterile inflammation and pulmonary emphysema. The effect of carbon black (CB), a universal constituent of smoke derived from the incomplete combustion of organic material, in smokers and non-smokers is less known. In this study, we show that insoluble nanoparticulate carbon black (nCB) accumulates in human myeloid dendritic cells (mDCs) from emphysematous lung and in CD11c+ lung antigen presenting cells (APC) of mice exposed to smoke. Likewise, nCB intranasal administration induced emphysema in mouse lungs. Delivered by smoking or intranasally, nCB persisted indefinitely in mouse lung, activated lung APCs, and promoted T helper 17 cell differentiation through double-stranded DNA break (DSB) and ASC-mediated inflammasome assembly in phagocytes. Increasing the polarity or size of CB mitigated many adverse effects. Thus, nCB causes sterile inflammation, DSB, and emphysema and explains adverse health outcomes seen in smokers while implicating the dangers of nCB exposure in non-smokers.” [DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09623 - Published October 5, 2015 - Cite as eLife 2015;4:e09623] – see  https://elifesciences.org/content/4/e09623 [ and here ].

SynTurf.org Note: Carbon black is a major constituent of tires. Crumb rubber infill made of used tires contains carbon clack. Dust from crumb rubber infill contains carbon black. Players run the risk of ingesting and inhaling the nanoparticulates of carbon black. Carbon black is a known carcinogen and also (now by this study) causes respiratory problems. Ergo: Draw you own conclusion as to whether a breathing human ought to play on a field with crumb rubber infill.

 

[No. 58] No matter the language, crumb rubber artificial turf fields sounds nasty in any tongue. Here are video links for the video presentation A Closeup Look at Tire Crumb Synthetic Turf  (by SF Parks, published March 20160 in English https://youtu.be/XGCnhFLdgS0 and the following languages:

Una Mirada Más De Cerca A La Miga De Neumáticos Césped Sintético (Spanish) https://youtu.be/60LUPe85xns

Eine Nahaufnahme Blick Reifen Crumb Synthetic Turf (German) https://youtu.be/2HZPgLDMlL8 

特写看轮胎碎屑人造草坪 (Chinese) https://youtu.be/d7fgPlGCP1M

A Look Close-Up à Tire Crumb Gazon Synthétique (French) https://youtu.be/X--0lSouHTo 

A Close-Up Guardare Tire Crumb Tappeto Erboso Sintetico (Italian) https://youtu.be/rtYDqq5UQuQ

A Relva Sintética Close-Up Olhar - Pneu Crumb (Portuguese) https://youtu.be/nKWgYnFT8bE

टायर टुकड़ा सिंथेटिक टर्फ पर एक closeup देखो - Tire Crumb Synthetic Turf (Hindi) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZGdrcUHcHw

This covers most of humanity; more translation in other languages welcome.

[No. 57] U.S. Federal Research on Recycled Tire Crumbs Used on Playing Fields. In February 2016 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a bulletin in its “Science in Action – Innovative Research for a Sustainable Future” dedicated to the issue of Federal Research on Recycled Tire Crumbs Used on Playing Fields. The bulletin stated “Concerns have been raised by the public about the safety of recycled tire crumb used in playing fields and playgrounds in the United States. Limited studies have not shown an elevated health risk from playing on fields with tire crumb, but the existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb.” “On February 12, 2016 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a multi-agency action plan to study key environmental human health questions. This coordinated Federal Research Action Plan on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds includes outreach to key stakeholders, such as athletes and parents, and seeks to: [1] Fill important data and knowledge gaps; [2] Characterize constituents of recycled tire crumb[; and] [3] Identify ways in which people may be exposed to tire crumb based on their activities on the fields.” The Bulletin also outlined the state of the existing research and information:  “Other federal, state, and local government agencies have conducted limited studies on artificial turf fields. For example, from 2009-2011, New York City and the states of New York, Connecticut and New Jersey conducted studies on tire crumb infill and synthetic turf. Also, in 2008 and 2009 the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry evaluated synthetic turf “grass blades” in response to concerns about lead exposure. Their evaluations estimated that any potential releases of toxic chemicals from the grass blades, such as lead, would be below levels of concern.  In 2008, EPA conducted a limited Scoping-Level Field Monitoring Study of Synthetic Turf Fields and Playgrounds. The purpose of the limited study was to test a method for measuring possible emissions from using synthetic turf on playgrounds and ball fields, not to determine the potential health risks of recycled tire crumb in playgrounds or in synthetic turf athletic fields.” The bulletin concluded: “Limited studies have not shown an elevated health risk from playing on fields with tire crumb, but the existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb EPA has developed a Tire Crumb and Synthetic Turf Field Literature and Report List (Nov. 2015). It is an extensive, although not exhaustive, survey of the literature from the past 12 years.” The EPA website for tire [rubber] crumb is http://www.epa.gov.TireCrumb . For the text of the bulletin go to http://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/federal-research-recycled-tire-crumbs-used-playing-fields or here and also see this. For a well done news story by NBC Nightly News on the joint federal “effort” see Feds to Investigate Safety of Crumb Rubber Turf Fields https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_uQezVNLIt8 (12 February 2016).

 

[No. 56] Details of Yale University’s Metal Analysis of Crumb Rubber Infill and Playground Mulch (2015). According to a bulletin distributed by www.ehhi.org , the Yale University’s Metal Analysis of crumb rubber infill and playground rubber mulch “shows that metals are present in, and presumably released from, the crumb rubber and rubber mulch.  The metals that are released from the various samples are very different, reflecting the lack of standardization in the shredded waste tires. This fact is due to all the different tires that are collected from all over the country and then put into shredding machines. There is no standardization - and in fact the tires come from all different kinds of vehicles: trucks, both  large and small, cars and as many different kinds of tires as you can imagine. The wide variability of shredded waste tire mulch and crumb rubber infill throws all of those "safety" studies in doubt because no two samples are necessarily the same.  It further casts doubt on studies of older fields where the crumb rubber has broken down to dust over time and use.  The cadmium levels in this analysis go from (mg/kg) 0.16 to 1.39; the lead levels go from (mg/kg) 2.6 to 33.1 and the zinc levels go from (g/kg) 8.8 to 22.2.  These are large variables due to the different samples of what is supposedly the same products - showing no standardization at all.”

“Methods used in the metal analysis of the crumb rubber tire synthetic turf infill and the rubber tire playground mulch at Yale University. The shredded rubber tire playground mulch samples tested were provided by the manufacturer and were purchased in new bags of rubber mulch for use in gardens and playgrounds. The rubber tire infill for synthetic turf fields was obtained as new infill material from installers of synthetic turf fields.  There were 5 samples of infill from 5 different installers of fields and 9 different samples of rubber mulch taken from 9 different new bags of playground mulch.  The methods of testing were as follows.”

“Aqua regia method: Crumb rubber samples were rinsed three times with deionized water.  Fine grained samples were drained with filter paper, while coarser samples were decanted.  They were then dried overnight at 60 degrees C.  After drying, crumb rubber samples were cut into pea-sized pieces and pulverized in a Spex CertiPrep 6750 freezer mill for 6 minutes at a rate of 10 cycles per second and after 6 minutes of cooling time.  The resulting rubber powder was sieved through a 0.84 mm sieve to remove large fragments.  After sieving, the rubber powder was dried again overnight at 60 degrees C to remove condensation. 0.2 - 0.15 gram quantities of the rubber powder were weighed into Teflon vessels and 10 ml of aqua regia was added.  The vessels were sealed and loaded into a CEM Mars 5 microwave assisted digester and heated at 1200 watts power maintained at 800 psi and 160 degrees C for 10 minutes followed by 1200 watts power maintained at 800 psi and 170 degrees C for 10 minutes.  The vessels were left to cool to ambient temperature (22 degrees C), after which 2 ml aliquots of aqua regia extract were filtered through 0.45 _m syringe filters.  The 2 ml filtrates were diluted to 40 ml with deionized water to yield 5% aqua regia solutions, which were analyzed by ICP-MS (Perkin Elmer Elan DRC-e) for cadmium and lead, and which were analyzed by ICP-AES (Perkin Elmer Optima 3000) for zinc.  All labware was acid washed in an acid bath containing 10% HCl and 10% HNO3 at room temperature.  Sieves and freezer mill components were acid washed in 5% acetic acid.”

For the results of the Yale Metal Analysis go here.

For an earlier post about this study see http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item No. 49) below.

[No. 55] European Union is looking into legislation to restrict the use of crumb rubber in artificial turf fields. According to a news report in The Irish Times (22 February 2016), “[r]ubber infill, used widely in the construction of synthetic turf pitches throughout Ireland, is being considered by the EU as a product that should fall under restrictive legislation. Claims that the rubber contains toxic material and may cause cancer have made the safety of the pitches one of the most volatile issues in sport. ….. Based on a proposal by Germany in 2010, the European Commission has put a restriction on the manufacturing, use and placing on the market of PAHs [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]. Companies began to comply with the restriction on December 27th, 2015…. The most recent discussion about the recycled rubber took place last November at an EU member-state competent authorities meeting. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), which is the driving force behind regulatory chemical authorities in Europe, has begun to prepare a guideline to define which products or parts of products will fall under the scope of European restrictions.” Source:  Johnny Watterson, “EU considering health issues of rubber in artificial pitches: Claims that rubber infill in synthetic pitches has toxic material that causes cancer,” in The Irish Times, 22 February 2016 at http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/other-sports/eu-considering-health-issues-of-rubber-in-artificial-pitches-1.2543174

 

[No. 54] Hartford, Connecticut: New Zoning Code bans crumb rubber and other synthetic infills from artificial turf landscapes. On 12 January 2016 the Hartford’s Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously approved changes to the city’s Zoning Code, which streamlining the regulations and updating them to reflect the city’ss current vision and today’s best practices. The changes feature a new section on landscaping. For a copy of the new code, effective as of 19 January 2016, see  http://www.hartford.gov/images/Planning/FINAL_Hartford_Zoning_2016.1.19.pdf or go here. On page 195 (here), the code lays out the rules for Ground Plane Vegetation, providing that all unpaved areas can be covered by planting beds, grass, or “artificial turf.” The regulation 6.3.3 states that the use of artificial turf containing “synthetic infill materials" shall be prohibited and the use of artificial turf containing “organic infill materials” or containing no infill material shall be permitted, provided that such use is in compliance with all applicable environmental laws and regulations; and any infill is composed completely of organic materials; and the use of artificial turf does not exceed the impervious coverage requirements. The regulation defines “artificial turf” as any man-made surface manufactured from synthetic materials which simulate the appearance of live turf, grass, sod, or lawn. “Synthetic infill material,” according to the regulation, is any man-made infill from recycled or virgin materials including but not limited to ambient and cryogenic crumb rubber, coated crumb rubber, ethylene propylene diene monomer granules, thermoplastic elastomer granules, and recycled footwear. “Organic infill material” is defined as any material utilizing organic components such as cork, coconut husks, rice husks, silica sand, or acrylic coated sand.

 

[No. 53] Washington, DC: US Senators Blumenthal and Nelson ask POTUS to initiate a comprehensive study into the potential health risks posed by crumb rubber playing surfaces. In his State of the Union Adress on January 12, 2016 President Obama stated: “Last year, Vice President Biden said that with a new moonshot, America can cure cancer. Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade. Tonight, I’m announcing a new national effort to get it done. And because he’s gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, I’m putting Joe in charge of Mission Control. For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the family we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all. Medical research is critical. See the President’s Address at https://medium.com/@WhiteHouse/president-obama-s-2016-state-of-the-union-address-7c06300f9726#.84whrbci3 .

Yes, indeed, curing cancer is very important, preventing cancer is even more so. The recent  Congressional efforts to get the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency having gone nowhere, US Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Bill Nelson (D-Florida) are now asking the White House to initiate a comprehensive federal-led study into the potential health risks posed by artificial turf fields and synthetic playground surfaces containing crumb rubber. President Obama may or may not oblige the Senators. It is worth mentioning however that in December 2014 a citizens’ petition tried to get the White House to remove the carcinogenic and toxic tire mulch from the White House playground and replace it with wood chips or wood mulch. See https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/remove-carcinogenic-and-toxic-tire-mulch-white-house-playground-replace-wood-chips-or-wood or here. The petition went nowhere. And earlier call a bout the toxic nature of rubber mulch in that playground too fell on deaf ears. See Nancy Alderman, “Toxic mulch means White House play area not fun and games,” in New Haven Register, 13 April 2009, at http://www.synturf.org/images/Nancy-http___www.nhregister.pdf . 

For what is worth, here is Senator Blumenthal’s press release and the text of the letter from http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/ask-for-comprehensive-crumb-rubber-turf-study -

(Hartford, CT) – With concerns mounting about artificial turf athletic fields and playgrounds made of crumb rubber, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.)--two top Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee-- today asked President Barack Obama to initiate a comprehensive federal-led study into the potential health risks posed by the surfaces.

In a letter to the president, Blumenthal and Nelson said the possible correlation between crumb rubber and cancer suggested by recent reports warrants further scrutiny.

“Given that millions of children and young athletes play on crumb rubber synthetic surfaces every day, this correlation with cancer cannot be ignored,” the lawmakers wrote.

The senators cited research from University of Washington soccer coach Amy Griffin, who found 153 reported cancer cases involving athletes who spent significant periods of time playing on crumb rubber turf.   Of those cases, 124 were soccer players.

“We believe that a more comprehensive federal study on this matter, one that draws not only from the public safety expertise of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), but from the public health and environmental expertise of agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency, would more fully inform the public on any potential public health or safety impacts associated with crumb rubber,” the senators’ letter continued.

Today’s call to action is not the first time the two senators have pressed the federal government to take a lead role in investigating crumb rubber turf.   In November, the lawmakers asked the CPSC to conduct an independent federal investigation.  The CPSC informed them that it planned to work closely with a California-led investigation into possible health risks associated with crumb rubber but stopped short of committing to an independent investigation.  The EPA has also recently said it plans to assist California in its investigation. 

The following is the text of the senatorial letter to the President:

Dear Mr. President:

We write to request that your administration spearhead a comprehensive study and assessment of the safety of artificial turf surfaces infilled with “crumb rubber.”

Crumb rubber consists of recycled scrap tires grounded into small particles, which are then incorporated into the synthetic turf as infill.  These artificial surfaces have been installed in playgrounds and sports fields all across the country.  Unfortunately, recent reports indicate that these surfaces may pose serious health risks, including cancer, to individuals who come into frequent contact with them.  As such, we believe this issue warrants scrutiny from U.S. government agencies with expertise in public health and consumer safety.

The existing body of knowledge on the safety of crumb rubber is incomplete.  Nonetheless, one disturbing report finds that there may be a correlation between crumb rubber and cancer.  Specifically, according to University of Washington soccer coach Amy Griffin, and as reported by ESPN, there are now 153 reported cancer cases involving athletes who spent significant periods of time playing on synthetic turf with crumb rubber infill.  Of these cases, 124 of the athletes are soccer players, 85 of whom played goalie.  Given that millions of children and young athletes play on crumb rubber synthetic surfaces every day, this correlation with cancer cannot be ignored.

Last November, we wrote a letter to Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Elliot Kaye urging the Commission to initiate an independent investigation on the safety of crumb rubber turf.  According to Chairman Kaye, the CPSC will be working with the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to determine the possible health risks that crumb rubber poses.

This is a laudable effort, and we appreciate the CPSC’s response.  However, we believe that a more comprehensive federal study on this matter, one that draws not only from the public safety expertise of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, but from the public health and environmental expertise of agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency, would more fully inform the public on any potential public health or safety impacts associated with crumb rubber.  Accordingly, we ask that your administration coordinate a comprehensive initiative that effectively utilizes all of the relevant agencies that can provide insight on the health and safety crumb rubber.

Thank you for your attention to this letter.

Sincerely,

Bill Nelson                                         

Ranking Member

Richard Blumenthal

Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Consumer Protection,

Product Safety, Insurance, and Data Security

See companion story “CPSC Chair changes tune about investigation of crumb rubber” at http://www.synturf.org/cpsc.html (Item No. 12)

 

[No. 52] Linda Chalker-Scott on toxicity of rubber mulch made from used tires.  Back in the day when SynTurf.org was getting started (2007) there were very few studies about the toxicity of ground up used tires. One was by Linda Chalker-Scott, Ph.D., Extension Horticulturist and Associate Professor at Puyallup Research and Extension Center, Washington State University. The tract was titled The Myth of Rubberized Landscapes. SynTurf.org reported on it at http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item No. 4). The link-reference in that piece no longer works; however the work does appear at a new link http://puyallup.wsu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/rubber-mulch.pdf and it is retained also here.

Dr. Chalker-Scott, a tireless researcher of rubber mulch toxicity, has updated and expanded her earlier work in a 2015 edition entitled Rubber Mulch Use in Home Landscapes (Washington State University Extension Fact Sheet – FS 163E). It is accessible at http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/FS163E/FS163E.pdf and here. The following excerpt from the Fact Sheet pretty much summarizes the reasons why crumb rubber infill – which is a tiny version of the chunkier rubber mulch - is as nasty and hazardous to the health of human, botanical and aquatic life forms.

Decomposition of rubber means that breakdown products, including heavy metals and other chemicals of concern, leach into the surrounding soil and water. Rubber leach­ates also contain various plasticizers and accelerators used during the vulcanizing process, a process in which rubber is chemically treated to give it useful properties such as strength or elasticity. Decades of research have confirmed that entire aquatic communities of algae, zooplankton, snails, and fish can be killed when exposed to rubber leach­ates.

The leaching problem increases as the particle size of recycled tires decreases. In other words, the smaller the particle size, the greater the potential for leaching. Toxins associated with crumb rubber (Figure 3), a more finely ground type of rubber used on athletic fields, are well docu­mented (Li et al. 2010; Llompert et al. 2012; Menichini et al. 2011; Simcox et al. 2011). Benzothiazole, a toxic, airborne contaminant from crumb rubber, is the primary rubber-related chemical found in synthetic turf studies. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) such as naph­thalene, phthalates, butylated hydroxytoluene, and othe chemicals of concern have been found in the air, water, and soil adjacent to crumb rubber and other recycled tire products. In one recent study, the levels of PAH reported were significantly higher than allowable for agricultural or industrial soils (Llompert et al. 2012).

Research provides additional evidence regarding the poten­tial health risks associated with exposure to crumb rubber in turf fields and playgrounds (Bocca et al. 2009; Kim et al. 2012; Llompert et al. 2012; Menichini et al. 2011; Sadiktsis et al. 2012; Simcox et al. 2011). To date, however, there are no similar studies that focus on the health risks posed by rubber mulches used in home gardens and landscapes. It is difficult to apply the findings from athletic field and playground studies to the home landscapes. However, home gardeners should be aware of potential contaminants should they choose to use rubber mulches.

 

[No. 51] Empire State Consumer Project’s  2015 Children’s Products Safety Report re-raises concern over use of crumb rubber infill in athletic fields and rubber mulch in gardens and on playgrounds. On 1 December 2015, Empire State Consumer Project, Inc. (Judy Braiman, President) issued its 2015 Childrens' Product Safety Report.  Once again the Project raises concern over the use of crumb rubber infill in athletic fields and rubber mulch in gardens and on playgrounds. The excerpts of the report on Artificial Turf and Artificial Mulch are reproduced here. The full report is accessible here.

The Project has known for years that artificial turf contains cancer causing chemicals, but the recent news of players coming down with cancers again has brought to light the need for more research. “In addition to containing carcinogens, turf fields pose a number of other health risks ESCP has been reporting on since the fields were first introduced in schools. Some studies show a higher incidence of knee injuries and sprains on turf vs. grass. Injuries including ‘turf burn’ and ‘turf toe,’” the Report stated. “With skin abrasions, additional research is needed to determine whether methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, MRSA are more likely with artificial turf than with grass. Heat on and above artificial turf fields has been measured at up to 200 degrees Fahrenheit, causing heat stroke and dehydration in school children as well as professional athletes,” according to the Report.

On Artificial Mulch (rubber mulch), the Report included a table that listed results obtained on laboratory testing of materials used in rubber mulch that is made of ground up used tires like those used for making artificial turf fields. “The mulch is advertised as a garden and playground mulch. Some products are marked ‘Playground safety tested.’ There are no government standards for testing the safety of rubber mulch for playground use or for garden use,” the Report stated. “Among other health effects caused by arsenic and cadmium (both found in samples tested), both are known to be human carcinogens (cancer classification NTP). Zinc, also found in samples, is known to cause respiratory and digestive health effects, and pancreatic and kidney damage … Inhalation, ingestion, and dermal exposure to toxic chemicals are all concerns where children play. Where foods are grown for human consumption, toxic chemicals potentially leaching into plants is also a concern that warrants study,” according to the Report.

 

[No. 50] Edmonds, Washington, temporarily bans crumb rubber infill. SynTurf.org, Newton, Massachusetts, 1 January 2016. On 8 December 2015, following residents’ outcry about the hazards of fields with crumb rubber infill, Edmonds City Council voted unanimously to ban for one year the installation of synthetic turf made from recycled tires, or crumb rubber, on the city’s athletic fields. The ban is to expire on July 11, 2017, unless following a public hearing in June 2017 the Council decides otherwise. The first city in the country to pass such a measure, Edmonds hopes to gain adequate information to determine if a permanent or extended ban is necessary. See Jessica Lee, “The council voted Tuesday to prohibit the installation of the infill after residents voiced concern over the material’s potential negative impacts,” in Seattle Times, 9 December 2015, at http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/edmonds-city-council-bans-crumb-rubber-turf-for-artificial-fields/  and here . For the agenda of the City Council meeting go to http://agenda.edmonds.wa.us:8085/print_ag_memo.cfm?seq=8169&rev_num=0&mode=External&reloaded=true&id or here. For the text of draft ordinance go to http://agenda.edmonds.wa.us:8085/docs/2015/CCOUNCIL/20151208_1210/8169_2015-12-03%20ordinance%20banning%20crumb%20rubber.pdf or here. For minutes of the Council’s meeting and amendments to the draft ordinance (December 8, 2015), go to http://agenda.edmonds.wa.us:8085/docs/2015/CCOUNCIL/20151215_1211/8192_12-08-15%20Draft%20Council%20Meeting%20Minutes.pdf or here (Item 5)

 

[No. 49] Yale Study (2015): Harmful ingredients in crumb rubber and their effect on human health. SynTurf.org Note: Here (in 2015) is yet again another research study that has looked at the ingredients of crumb rubber usually derived from used tires and their effect on human health. The Yale Study did not consider “black carbon,” which constitutes about 25% of the rubber in tires and is a known and confirmed carcinogen. Read more about carbon black at http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item Nos. 40, and 55-47). 

Previous studies revealing the harmful ingredients of crumb rubber posted on this site include EHHI-sponsored study conducted by Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station entitled Examination of Crumb Rubber Produced from Recycled Tires (August 2007); Rochestarians Against the Misuse of Pesticides (RAMP), Synthetic Turf Chemicals (October 2007), which was conducted by the Institute of Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany as an emerging environmental issue (“Possible Health Effects of Synthetic Turf”), accessible at http://www.albany.edu/ihe/Synthetic_Turf_Chemicals.php and at http://www.synturf.org/images/RAMP-Synthetic_Turf_Chemicals.pdf ; Junfeng Zhang, In-Kyu Han, Lin Zhang and William Crain, “Hazardous chemicals in synthetic turf materials and their bioaccessibility in digestive fluids,” in Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology (August 30, 2008) online at http://www.nature.com/jes/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/jes200855a.html; and “EPA’s List of Carcinogens and Other Harmful Substances in Tires” posted on this website at  http://www.synturf.org/epa.html  (Item No. 18, May 2015).

 

Findings of the chemical analysis conducted by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of crumb rubber tire infill used in synthetic turf and rubber tire mulch used as surfacing material in toddler playgrounds

Source: Environment and Human Health, Inc., North Haven, Connecticut

www.EHHIi.org

http://www.ehhi.org/turf/findings0815.shtml

Posted on EHHI’s website on 4 September 2015

[minor editing changes by SynTurf.org]

The shredded rubber tire playground mulch samples tested were provided by the manufacturer and were purchased in new bags of rubber mulch for use in gardens and playgrounds. The rubber tire infill for synthetic turf fields was obtained as new infill material from installers of synthetic turf fields.  There were 5 samples of infill from 5 different installers of fields and 9 different samples of rubber mulch taken from 9 different unopened bags of playground mulch.

Results

There were 96 chemicals found in 14 samples analyzed.  Half of those chemicals had no government testing on them - so we have no idea whether they are safe or harmful to health.  Of those chemicals found that have had some government testing done on them these are the findings with their health effects.

11 Carcinogens

• 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole -- Carcinogen, toxic to aquatic life

•9,10-Dimethylanthracene -- Carcinogen, respiratory irritant and can cause asthma

•Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate -- Carcinogen, may cause damage to fetuses

•Fluoranthene -- Carcinogen, Fluoranthene is one of the U.S. EPA's 16 priority pollutant -

  A PAH [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon].

•Heptadecane -- Carcinogen

•2-mercaptobenzothiazole -- Carcinogen

•Phenol, 4-(1,1,3,3-tetramethylbutyl) -  Carcinogen

•Phenanthrene -- Carcinogen  - A PAH

•Phthalimide -- Carcinogen, skin, eye and lung irritan. A Fungiside

•Pyrene, 1-methyl--  Carcinogen

•Tetratriacontane -- Carcinogen, eye and skin irritant. Can cause systemic damage to

  central nervous system.

•Pyrene -- Carcinogen, toxic to liver and Kidneys, a PAH

20 Irritants

•1,4-Benzenediamine, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl --  Irritant - causes skin and eye

  irritation, toxic to aquatic life

•1,4-Benzenediamine, N-(1-methylethyl)-N'-phenyl -- Irritant - causes skin and eye

  irritation, toxic to aquatic life

•2(3H)-Benzothiazolone -- Irritant - causes skin and lung irritation

•2-Dodecen-1-yl(-)succinic anhydride -- Irritant - causes eyes, skin and lungs irritation

•3,5-di-tert-Butyl-4-hydroxybenzaldehyde --  Irritant - causes irritation to eyes, skin and

  lungs.

•Anthracene --  Irritant - causes skin, eye and respiratory irritation. Breathing it can

  irritate the nose, throat and  lungs causing coughing and wheezing

•Benzenamine, 4-octyl-N-(4-octylphenyl) --  Irritant - causes eye and skin irritation

•Benzenesulfonanilide -- Considered hazardous, very little testing has been done on it.

•Benzothiazole, 2-(methylthio) -- Irritant - causes Skin and eye irritation

•Dehydroabietic acid --  Toxic to aquatic organisms

•Docosane --  Irritant - causes Skin irritation

•Hexadecanoic acid, butyl ester -- Irritant - causes eye, skin and lung irritant; can cause

  reproductive effects

•Methyl stearate --  Irritant - causes eye, skin and lung irritation

•Octadecane -- Irritant - causes kin, eye and respiratory irritation

•Octadecanoic acid also known as Stearic acid --  Irritant - causes skin, eye and

  respiratory irritation

•Oleic Acid -- Irritant - causes skin and eye irritation

•Phenol, 2,2'-methylenebis[6-(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-ethyl --  Irritant - causes skin, eye and

  respiratory irritation

•Tetradecanoic acid -- Toxic to aquatic organisms; skin and eye irritant

•Anthracene, 2-methyl --  Acute aquatic toxicity, Not much data available - what there is

  shows it to be an eye, skin and lung irritant

•Anthracene, 9-methyl --  Acute aquatic toxicity, serious eye irritant

 

[No. 48] Santa Rosa, California: Sonoma County football fields going with plant-derived infill over crumb rubber because of safety concerns. According to a news report in The Press Democrat (19 August 2015), “Casa Grande is now the third high school where athletes will play on turf lined with ground-up cork instead of rubber pellets, following the Petaluma school board’s vote Tuesday [18 August 2015] night to change the topping on the school’s planned new field after parents raised potential safety concerns. Casa joins two other schools, Analy and El Molino from the West County School District, whose administrators have changed to cork infill over crumb rubber following’ complaints.   Petaluma High, which will have its field refurbished next year, will also now receive an alternative infill, superintendent Gary Callahan said Wednesday [19 August 2015]. A number of local parents have joined forces to challenge schools as they move to replace old, thirsty, expensive-to-maintain natural grass fields with artificial turf. Turf, which consists of a rock-and-sand foundation and a cushy rubber and plastic fake-grass surface, has become the go-to choice for schools and communities seeking more affordable and weather-resistant fields for football, soccer and lacrosse. On top of and in between the bright green ‘grass’ blades, manufacturers add a material for added cushion, comfort and durability. Most often, that topping is made from an otherwise difficult to recycle item – used vehicle tires. Some schools and communities have used the product for decades. But in the past year or so, anecdotal data from coaches raised concerns about potential health hazards associated with playing on the rubber pellets or breathing in gases that may be given off. In Petaluma, Casa’s $2.9 million field renovation originally included a turf field with a topping of crushed tire pellets, commonly called crumb rubber. But parents and others asked the board to reconsider. Some believe the rubber filling, which contains various carcinogenic chemicals, can be hazardous after prolonged contact with athletes’ skin, or if potential minute particles are inhaled. None of multiple studies on the product have proved health hazards, but concerns remain about the studies’ accuracy and objectivity. The state of California has agreed to conduct a more in-depth study into the issue. School board members, while not acknowledging that the fields hurt kids, agreed that alternatives are prudent. They supported a cork infill with a rock-and-sand base instead, adding another $132,000 to the project over the cost of the rubber and delaying completion for several weeks. Initially, the district planned to open the field in late October. Although the field was already two months into construction, Callahan said board members felt the parents’ concerns warranted a change. ‘The board certainly wasn’t saying those fields are dangerous, but they felt this was a more comfortable decision that the community can be comfortable with,’ he said. ‘You have enough of a public concern about the health of their child that the cost of making the change did not justify ignoring those concerns.’ Brian Mifsud, a parent who led the challenge in Petaluma, said he was thrilled the board listened. ‘I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome,’ he said. His son will play football this year at Casa. Callahan said the cork is billed as anti-microbial and anti-allergenic, and repels pests and mold.” Source: Lori A. Carter, “New Casa Grande field to have cork infill instead of rubber,” in The Press Democrat,” 19 August 2015, at http://www.pressdemocrat.com/sports/4362714-181/new-casa-grande-high-school?page=1

 

[No. 47] More details from the EHHI Study at Yale University. In an Op-Ed piece entitled “Our children are playing on toxic grounds,” published in the Plainville Citizen on 26 June 2015, the author of the piece Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health, Inc., noted the following findings in an EHHI study of crumb rubber infill conducted by researchers and scientists at Yale University (see also Item No. 46 below): (excerpts)

The following is a summary of findings of chemical analysis conducted by the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of crumb rubber tire infill used in synthetic turf and rubber tire mulch used as surfacing material in toddler playgrounds.

The shredded rubber tire playground mulch samples tested were provided by the manufacturer and were purchased in new bags of rubber mulch for use in gardens and playgrounds. The rubber tire infill for synthetic turf fields was obtained as new infill material from installers of synthetic turf fields. There were five samples of infill from five different installers of fields and nine different samples of rubber mulch taken from nine different unopened bags of playground mulch.

1. 96 chemicals found in 14 samples analyzed. Each sample represented either a different synthetic field supplier or a different unopened bag of rubber playground mulch.

 2. Of the 96 chemicals detected, 47 (49 percent) had no toxicity assessments done on them for their health effects.

 3. Of the 96 chemicals detected, 49 (51 percent) have had some toxicity testing done, but even many of those had incomplete toxicity testing and therefore all health effects are not fully known.

4. Of the 49 chemicals that have been tested, 10 (20 percent) are probable carcinogens.

5. Of the 49 chemicals that have been tested, 19 (40 percent) are irritants.

Specifically, of the 40 percent of the chemicals that have been tested and are known to be irritants:

 1. 12 (24 percent) are respiratory irritants; some causing asthma symptoms.

 2. 18 (37 percent) can cause skin irritations.

 3. 13 (27 percent) can cause eye irritations.

 Chemicals are usually assessed for their toxicity one chemical at a time. Synergistic affects of being exposed to numerous chemicals at the same time is not known. From the data of this new study, it is reasonable to assume that persons playing on synthetic turf fields with rubber tire infill or toddler playgrounds surfaced with rubber tire mulch are being exposed concurrently to multiple chemicals.

 This study did not analyze for carbon black that makes up to 30 percent of each tire, nor did it analyze the carbon black nanoparticles or the nanotubes that are now used in the manufacture of tires. These three additional substances add to the toxicity of the shredded rubber tires that our toddlers, children, students and athletes are playing on.

 

 

 

 

[No. 46] Scientists and health professionals are concerned about children playing on crumb rubber. On 11 June 2015, Lauren Leamanczyk, of WBZ-TV (CBS affiliate in Boston, Massachusetts) reported that “[s]cientists at Yale University analyzed rubber material made from recycled tires used to soften playground surfaces and artificial turf fields… [and] … found dozens of chemicals in the material, many are probable cancer-causing agents and others can cause skin and breathing problems.” “[T]here are no long-term health studies looking at a direct link between the material and adverse health effects.” Associate professor of environmental health Joel Tickner of UMass Lowell told WBZ-TV that “[f] rankly, we don’t want to have those studies because if we have results that shows it’s a problem, we have already caused harm to children.” According to the report, “both Tickner and experts from the Harvard School of Public Health … disagree [with the Massachusetts department of Health’s position that] the material does not pose any long-term health concerns.” “If I were building a field in my town, I would avoid turf due to the uncertainties and the potential harm to children,” Tickner said. Source: Lauren Leamanczyk, “Playground Surfaces May Put Kids At Risk,” on WBZ-TV (CBS affiliate in Boston), 11 June 2015, at  http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/06/11/i-team-playground-surfaces-may -put-kids-at-risk/ 

The Yale Study referenced in the foregoing refers to a study done for Environment and Human Health, Inc. (www.ehhi.org) at Yale University. Gaboury Benoit, Ph.D., Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering, is the lead investigator of the study. According to a press release by EHHI, dated 10 June 2015 (here). The study found 96 chemicals in the rubber tire infill used in synthetic turf and rubber tire mulch used as surfacing in toddler playgrounds. Of the 96 chemicals detected—a  little under a half have had no toxicity assessments done on them for their health effects—therefore nothing is known about them. The other half have had some toxicity testing done on them—but even many of those chemicals had incomplete toxicity testing and therefore all health effects are not fully known. Of the half that have had toxicity assessments, 20% are probable carcinogens. As well, 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 irritants.

According to the press release, the shredded rubber tire playground mulch samples tested were provided by the manufacturers and were purchased in new bags of rubber mulch for use in gardens and playgrounds. The rubber tire infill for synthetic turf fields was obtained as new infill material from installers of synthetic turf fields.  There were 5 samples of infill from 5 different installers of fields and 9 different samples of rubber mulch taken from 9 different unopened bags of playground mulch. This study did not analyze for the carbon black that makes up to 30% of each tire, nor did it analyze the carbon black nanoparticles or the nanotubes that are now used in the manufacture of tires. The study also did not test for heavy metals. It is known from other studies that rubber tires contain large amounts of zinc, according to the press release.

In an e-mail, dated 10 June 2015, the president of EHHI Nancy Alderman asked: “Why is it when PCBs are found in a school the school is closed while they remove it.  No one says - we know it is a carcinogen  but we do not know whether the children will be exposed at a level that will harm them. Instead the carcinogen is removed before the children return. Why is it when asbestos is found in a school the school is closed while they remove it.  No one says - we know it is a carcinogen  but we do not know whether the children will be exposed at a level that will harm them.  Instead the carcinogen is removed before the children return. Why is it then when shredded rubber tires are put in schools,  and these tire products contain  many known carcinogens—not just one—the health departments say—yes there are carcinogens in the product—but we do not think the children will be exposed at a level that will harm them.  In this case the carcinogens are not removed.” “[H]ealth departments and government agencies turn a blind eye to what is happening to a whole generation of children and athletes who are being exposed to numerous carcinogens—not just one as with PCBs and asbestos,” she noted.

On 11 June 2015, WBBM-TV (CBS affiliate in Chicago, Illinois), reported on the Yale study as confirming the stations’ own February 2015 tests that “the tiny [crumb] rubber pellets [on fields] often contain cancer-causing chemicals.” According to Chris Palenik of Microtrace, which conducted the station’s testing. “[t]he major components [of crumb rubber] were benzothiazole compound and polyaromatic hydrocarbons.” According to the report, likes of Teddy Shapiro, a teenage cancer patient, are frustrated by “these types of findings, including the unknown.” He has a rare form of bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Dr. Robert Cohen, from Northwestern Medicine, told CBS 2 that “there has been a lack of significant, long-term testing of crumb rubber to find out whether there is a health danger. ‘We know some of these chemicals do cause cancer. I think the frightening thing is that we just don’t have the information we need.’” Source: Dave Savini, “New Research Raises Safety Concerns About Crumb Rubber,” on WBBM-TV (CBS affiliate in Chicago, Illinois), 11 June 2015, at http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/06/11/2-investigators-new-research-raises-safety-concerns-about-crumb-rubber/

According to sources in contact with Associate Head Soccer Coach at the University of Washington Amy Griffin, as of 13 June 2015, her list of players with cancer has grown to 153 cases, from various parts of the United States, with 32 in Washington State. Of the 153 cancer cases, 124 are soccer players. Of the 124 soccer players 85 are soccer goalies.  6 other players are either Field Hockey of Lacrosse players; 18 are football players; and  5 are baseball players. Meanwhile, on 11 June 2015, KIRO-TV in Seattle, Washington, reported that “[t]here’s a major development in the fight over artificial fields made out of crumb rubber. Tests will be done nationwide, including Western Washington, to determine if there is a link between ground-up tires and cancer. The Everett Boys and Girls Club has one of the fields being tested. The new artificial field was completed in November, but there is concern over its safety. In Edmonds, parents have been fighting construction of an artificial field made with the same material at the old Woodway High School. In May, Edmonds parents voiced their concerns to the school board, but construction is going forward. The Everett Herald reports that the Everett Boys and Girls Club field was built by the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation. It paid for the field and 41 others across the nation. Now, it will also pay for the testing at six locations, including Everett. The Edmonds School District said it hired specialists who didn't find any health risks with their field. ‘We’ve had no reports, in fact up until two months ago, there was no concerns regarding this,’ Debbie Joyce Jakala with the Edmonds School District said.

The tests at the Everett Boys and Girls Club are being conducted by Labosport based in Montreal, Canada. Results are expected in the next several months. If the tests show any problems, the foundation is willing to replace all 42 fields, each costing about $50,000. Source: “Crumb rubber fields to be tested for possible link to cancer,” on KIRO-TV (CBS affiliate in Seattle), 12 June 2015, at http://www.kirotv.com/news/news/crumb-rubber-fields-be-tested-possible-link-cancer/nmbsh/ .

The tests at the Everett Boys and Girls Club would be more credible if it were not funded by artificial turf industry interests; tested for long-term effect of exposure to one and to a combination of harmful substances (not a study of few months’ duration which is either going to be single-exposure test and/or review of existing misguided and defective studies often touted by the crumb rubber industry and plastic grass sellers). Sources tell SynTurf.org that the testing organization, Labosport, once conducted a test in Montreal that produced all of 2 pages (holding back the rest of the test results from the public).  “It only tested metals and used small samples. They also only tested for ingestion. They tested no other chemicals,” sources say. Go here. According to another source, the study “was insulting to the intelligence.”

 

[No. 45] Carbon nanotubes as dangerous as asbestos. In an article published in the Scientific American (May 2008), based on a study by University of Edinburgh/MRC Center for Inflammation Research, Larry Greenemeier concludes that carbon nanotubes are as dangerous as asbestos, the research showing that long, needle-thin carbon nanotubes could lead to lung cancer.” The following is the reprint of the article “Study Says Carbon Nanotubes as Dangerous as Asbestos; New research shows that long, needle-thin carbon nanotubes could lead to lung cancer,” in Scientific American, 20 May 2008, at http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carbon-nanotube-danger/ (Courtesy of the University of Edinburgh/MRC Center for Inflammation Research) in its entirety, followed by SynTurf.org Notes contaning comments of our readers:

Inhaling carbon nanotubes could be as harmful as breathing in asbestos, and its use should be regulated lest it lead to the same cancer and breathing problems that prompted a ban on the use of asbestos as insulation in buildings, according a new study posted online today by Nature Nanotechnology.

During the study, led by the Queen's Medical Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh/MRC Center for Inflammation Research (CIR) in Scotland, scientists observed that long, thin carbon nanotubes look and behave like asbestos fibers, which have been shown to cause mesothelioma , a deadly cancer of the membrane lining the body’s internal organs (in particular the lungs) that can take 30 to 40 years to appear following exposure. Asbestos fibers are especially harmful, because they are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs yet too long for the body's immune system to destroy.

The researchers reached their conclusions after they exposed lab mice to needle-thin nanotubes: The inside lining of the animals' body cavities became inflamed and formed lesions.

Carbon nanotubes are generally made from sheets of graphite no thicker than an atom—about a nanometer, or one billionth of a meter wide—and formed into cylinders, with the diameter varying from a few nanometers up to tens of nanometers. (They can be hundreds or even thousands of nanometers long.) There is a greater concern about “multiwalled” nanotubes consisting of several reinforced cylinders, because they are able to retain their pointy shapes better than thinner nanotubes.

Scientists have been noting the similarities between carbon nanotubes and asbestos for the past few years, says study co-author Andrew Maynard, chief science advisor for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, based in Washington, D.C. Maynard, who has been researching and warning of the potential health and environmental risks of carbon nanotubes since 2003, says that there has been no coordinated effort to date to analyze the findings of carbon nanotube toxicity studies. He notes that technology companies have not found that the risks of using carbon nanotubes outweigh the benefits—they are excellent conductors of electricity.

Carbon nanotubes can also be used to reinforce polymers to create very strong plastics. University of Michigan at Ann Arbor researchers are scaling the strength of nanosheets and a nanoscale polymer resembling white glue. Visually, it looks like a brick wall, in which clay nanosheet "bricks" are held together by water-soluble polyvinyl alcohol "mortar". The result, according to the researchers, is a composite plastic that is light and transparent but as strong as steel.

IBM has identified carbon nanotubes as important for studying electrical and optical phenomena on the nanometer scale, and the company has high hopes for the technology. Carbon nanotubes show promise as building blocks for computer chips that are "smaller, faster and lower power" than those made of silicon, Phaedon Avouris, an IBM fellow and lead researcher on the company's carbon nanotube efforts, wrote in the March 2007 issue of Physics World. "One of the most exciting developments in carbon nanotube research is the recent discovery that nanotubes can emit light," he added. "That finding opens the door to circuits in which standard copper interconnects are replaced by optical waveguides made from nanotubes—allowing the possibility of fully integrated optoelectronic circuits."

Nanotubes are likewise being developed for use in new drugs, energy-efficient batteries, electronics and other products under the assumption that they are no more dangerous than graphite. But some scientists and environmentalists like Maynard caution that they harbor hidden dangers. Compounding this concern is the prediction that the market for carbon nanotubes will grow from $6 million in 2004 to more than $1 billion by 2014, according to studies by a number of firms, including the Freedonia Group. A 2006 report from Lux Research projected that nanoscale technologies will be used in $2.6 trillion worth of manufactured goods by the year 2014.

The Edinburgh CIR study, which will also appear in the June issue of Nature Nanotechnology, was very specific, looking only at nanotubes that emulated fiber behavior and their potential to cause a certain type of cancer; other types of nanotubes could affect the body differently—for better or worse, researchers say.

Maynard and his colleagues focused their attention specifically on the hypothesis that long, thin carbon nanotubes could have the same impact as similarly shaped asbestos fibers. “If you get these things into the lungs,” he says, “they form scarlike tissue, and the body sees them like a scaffolding, building new cells over them and thickening the walls of the lungs.”

The study is not intended to keep nanotechnology from developing further but rather to flag potential dangers of nanotubes in places at manufacturing and disposal sites, the researchers wrote in their paper.

“There is an immediate need to examine how carbon nanotubes are being used and see if there’s any chance that [people] are being exposed to dangerous materials,” Maynard says, adding that no one paid attention to the dangers of asbestos until it was too late for a lot of people.

SynTurf.org Notes:

1. In October 2014 we published a piece entitled “Nanoparticles of carbon black and other substances of concern in crumb rubber.” http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Item No. 35).  It featured a 2009 article by Jim Novak of Turfgrass Producers International entitled “Exposure to crumb rubber nanoparticles could lead to serious health issues.” The article appeared in Turf & Recreation (2009), a national publication serving the Canadian turf and grounds maintenance industry http://www.turfandrec.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=298  ; (http://www.turfandrec.com/ ; or here.

2. According to Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human Health, Inc.,  “None of the studies that have looked at the safety of synthetic turf fields or playground rubber tire mulch have taken into consideration the health effects of the carbon black nanoparticles in the shredded rubber tires. Schools shut down when asbestos is found—and yet here the nation is endorsing at all levels of government—putting children on fields and playgrounds with carbon black nanoparticles that are now shown to act like asbestos in the lungs.”

3. One of our readers (Kathy) commented: “For credibility and appropriate regulation [i]t is important for anyone using the nanoparticle information to get certain distinctions clear: Carbon nanotubes vs carbon nanoparticles. (NO such thing as  “carbon black nanotubes”).  They are very different. As I understand it: “Carbon nanotubes” are man-made engineered tubelike  nanoparticles which are needle-like and added in small amounts to tires to strengthen the rubber mix. Because of their microscopic subcellular size they can cause damage at minute exposures within the body. Elemental “carbon nanoparticles” are the natural particles which aggregate to form carbon black, the black powder that is a major constituent of tires. To what extent carbon black disaggregates into nanoparticles again is not known. But certainly carbon black dust made up of aggregated carbon particles, plus other “stuff” adsorbed to those particles, coats balls, children and maybe lungs. Both can potentially cause harm but the needlelike nanotubes maybe more so at lower levels.  It is important to talk about them separately since they are not the same, are likely to have different effects  and are present in vastly different proportions.”

4. Kathy further commented: “Two facets of the problem need to be teased out. (1) Carbon black as a large and major  intrinsic source of harmful particles of all sizes; and (2) the other facet of the problem  is separate—added-- nanoparticles (zinc and other nanoparticles could be added as well as crbon nanotubes!) illustrating how the recipe of potential toxins is a ever unknown and moving target. Under the category of how tires are an ever changing—Pandora’s box of toxins and potential toxins—in addition to carbon black itself which is a large constituent of tires, companies are also adding engineered carbon nanotubes, exposure to which could be harmful at levels an order of magnitude below larger particles because of their microscopic cell organelle level size. There is no way of knowing if the nanotubes stay bound with larger ground up particles or are released from the matrix (as silver nanotubes have been found to be from materials when washed).”

 

[No. 44] Worcester, Massachusetts: Sports surfaces consultant on crumb rubber. A news story in Telegram & Gazette  (9 May 2015), quoted Joseph W. DiGeronimo, who runs the Sturbridge-based design and consulting firm DMA/DiGeronimo-Mikula Associates and has been involved in more than 400 artificial turf projects, saying “90 percent of [artificial turf] fields are recycled car tires…. Regarding assertions that potential health risks are connected with the small rubber pellets used in artificial turf fields, Mr. DiGeronimo said, ‘From a lay professional point of view and with 44 years in the sports business, I can tell you that rubber has enough chemicals in it to be a concern. I have seen five other chemicals or minerals outlawed from sports surfacing over the years … And they weren’t as bad.’” Source: Craig S. Semon, “Athletic officials praise turf as playing surface,” in Telegram & Gazette, 9 May 2015, at http://www.telegram.com/article/20150509/NEWS/150509510

[No. 43] West Sonoma County: San Francisco Bay Area, California: No crumb rubber infill for Sebastopol’s Analy High School and Forestville’s El Modino High School playing fields. According to a report on KTVU (Fox 2,  Oakland, 27 March 2015), the West Sonoma County High School District had decided several years ago to revamp the stadiums and replace the fields at Analy High School and El Molino High, pulling out grass and putting in synthetic fields. According to the district’s director of operations, Jennie Bruneman, “[t]he new fields will come with shredded cork filler, instead of the common crumb rubber filler. ‘Protecting our students is I think paramount to everything,’ said Bruneman.” KTVU has been investigating the potential health risks of crumb rubber. It spoke with Delaney Frye, a “high school soccer goalie who developed thyroid cancer possibly—she says—because of repeated exposure to [crumb rubber].” Source: John Sasaki, “North Bay school opts for cork field instead of controversial crumb rubber,” on KTVU (Fox 2,  Oakland), 27 March 2015, at http://wn.ktvu.com/story/28627379/north-bay-school-opts-for-cork-field-instead-of-controversial-crumb-rubber

 

[No. 42] Frankfurt, Kentucky: Energy and Environment Cabinet suspends the crumb rubber grant program for playing surfaces, supports a national study to measure impacts of recreational use of crumb rubber surfacing; House of Representatives passes a resolution applauding the EEC. SynTurf.org, Newton, Mass. 1 April 2015. The Division of Waste Management of the Department for Environmental Protection of the Energy and Environment Cabinet manages Kentucky’s Crumb Rubber Grant Program. The program assists (subsidizes, really) the “recycling” of tires by local governments, such as buying and using crumb rubber for a variety of purposes, including for use in playgrounds and playing fields. Kentucky has an acute used tire issue: It has an annual inventory of 4 million tires through the sale of new tires as well as imports from other states. The crumb rubber program is funded through a statutory tire fee levied on the purchase of each new tire in Kentucky. For details, see http://waste.ky.gov/RLA/Waste%20Tires/Pages/CrumbRubber.aspx .

Following the airing of the NBC Investigations report on the harm from playing on crumb rubber in October 2014 http://www.nbcnews.com/watch/nightly-news/does-artificial-turf-present-a-health-risk-339753027899 , many of the local NBC affiliates around the country “localized” the report for their own relevant markets. One such effort by WLEX-TV (Lex.18) in Lexington, Kentucky, which did a series of stories on the issue, led to the discovery of the Hicks twins, one of whom was a soccer player at Morehead State University who developed Hodgkins Lymphoma, while her identical twin sister, who pursued cheerleading, did not. See  http://www.synturf.org/health.html (Item No. 99). By 19 December 2014, WLEX reported “[t]he state of Kentucky is reviewing its practice of providing taxpayer-funded grants for the purchase of crumb rubber, a substance found on playgrounds and sports fields throughout the state that is made from shredded car tires.” Thanks to the effort of health advocate like Carolyn Dennis the issue would soon land in Kentucky’s legislature. See  http://www.lex18.com/story/27666132/lex-18-investigates-update-state-reviewing-crumb-rubber-grant-program .

Meanwhile efforts were being exerted in the Legislature to effect the suspension of the crumb rubber program as a matter of law. On 9 February 2015, Representative Mary Lou Marzian (D) of Louisville introduced a bill House Joint Resolution 124, which called for the imposition of a moratorium waste tire grants. According to the resolution’s legislative note, the “moratorium is proposed due to concerns regarding potential air and water contamination from tire shreds and that exposure by children and the unborn can cause birth defects, neurological and developmental deficits, and cancer.” Accordingly, the resolution would suspend the crumb rubber grant program “until it is determined by either the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Centers for Disease Control the use of recycled tire materials pose no threat to health, human safety, or the environment.” See legislative note at http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HJ124.htm .

HR124 was not adopted, but its text laid out, as a matter of legislative record, a litany of precise reasons for the moratorium that it was seeking. The preamble of the resolution note that “environmental groups, hospitals, doctors, universities, and the United States Protection Agency have expressed new concerns about the chemicals found in tire shreds;” and “Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center stated there is a potential air and water contamination from tire shreds and that exposure by children and the unborn can cause birth defects, neurologic and developmental deficits, and even cancer;” and “chemicals causing the most concern include carbon black, arsenic, cadmium, and benzene;” and “tire shreds also contain phthalates, which are known hormonal disruptors; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which cause cancer and increase the chance of birth defects; and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause asthma, eye and throat irritation, and various types of cancer.” See text via http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HJ124.htm (or here).

On 3 March 2015, Representative Kelly Flood (D) of Lexington introduced House Resolution 206, entitled “A Resolution commending the Energy and Environment Cabinet for suspending crumb rubber grants and encouraging the cabinet to continue studying the health effects of recycled waste tires.” It was adopted the next day. It acknowledged the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s suspension of “awarding grants from the program due to health and safety concerns with using crumb rubber after environmental groups, hospitals, doctors, universities, and the United States Environmental protection Agency expressed new concerns about the chemicals found in tire shreds.” It also urged the EEC “to voluntarily study the health effects associated with using waste tires for downstream recycled products.”

HR206, like the previous resolution, noted the Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center statement that “there is a potential air and water contamination from tire shreds and that exposure by children and the unborn can cause birth defects, neurologic and developmental deficits, and even cancer;” and that “chemicals causing the most concern include carbon black, arsenic, cadmium, and benzene;’ and that “tire shreds also contain phthalates, which are known hormonal disruptors; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), which cause cancer and increase the chance of birth defects; and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause asthma, eye and throat irritation, various types of cancer.” For the text of HR206 please go to http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/15RS/HR206.htm or here.

 

[No. 41] Santa Rosa, California: West Sonoma Union High School District says no to crumb rubber infill. According to a news report in The Press democrat (4 March 2015), on 4 March 2015, West Sonoma Union High School District officials “decided [unanimously] to abandon crumb rubber in proposed athletic fields at two west county high schools,” in an about face move from its unanimous decision last November to go with crumb rubber. The WSUHSD “board members weighed nine infill options for the athletic fields at Analy and El Molino high schools. After listening to a number of residents, the board directed staff to look at the cost and maintenance associated with two options: an infill made from 100 percent cork and another made from coconut fiber and cork.” “Residents were thrilled with the quick move to boot crumb rubber …  A group of parents had raised concerns over the crumb rubber and the potential of exposing their children to hazardous chemicals. Even though the price of the alternative infills is 170,000-27000 more per filed, Board member Kellie Noe noted that student safety comes first: “I don’t think there’s a price we can put on the safety of our students,” she said during the meeting.” Source: Eloísa Ruano González, “No crumb rubber for west county schools’ turf,” in The Press Democrat, 4 March 2015, at http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/local/3613400-181/no-crumb-rubber-for-west

 

[No. 40] Rayton, Kansas: Retired Goodyear tire engineer says toxic and carcinogenic chemicals in ground rubber are absorbed by the body and breathed into the lungs. William Castrop, 62, of Raytown, Kansas, is a retired Goodyear Tire engineer and former chief operating officer with McCord Tire and Manufacturing Co. He has been researching the toxicity of crumb rubber issue since 2013, and his findings are being reviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Environmental Protection Agency, Oklahoma Central University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine. In a letter to the editor at The Kansas City Star (1 March 2015), he wrote:

It seems as if only the medical community cares about crumb rubber being used on sporting fields and playgrounds. These new fields located throughout the city are made using ground rubber.

Carbon black, chloride chlorine, hydrochloride, phosphorus, benzene styrene and cesium all are listed in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Material Safety Data Sheets as toxic chemicals as well as carcinogenic and sarcoma-, leukemia-, lymphoma-causing chemicals.

These chemicals are absorbed by the body and breathed into the lungs. These chemicals can cause death. The toxicity has been verified by mass spectrometer readings at three locations.

Source: William Castrop, “Sports fields and playgrounds made of ground rubber are a threat,” in The Kansas City Star, 1 March 2015, at http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article11386478.html#/tabPane=tabs-b0710947-1-1 (Letter of the Week) and here.  

[No. 39] San Mateo, California: Crumb rubber infill is ruled out at Los Prados Park. According to news report in The Daily Journal (23 February 2015): “After spending more than two years contemplating the first city-owned artificial turf, the City Council decided … it would not use the controversial, yet common, crumb rubber infill. As questions surrounding the impacts using of recycled tires on synthetic turf fields surface, the San Mateo City Council is treading carefully as it plans a multi-million dollar revamp of Los Prados Park. Instead, city staff will continue to evaluate current studies and data on the use of EPDM, manufactured virgin rubber, and TPE, a combination of manufactured plastic and rubber, as infill alternatives, said Recreation Division Manager Paul Council.” “’There’s a wide range of health issues that are in play, there’s a wide range of environmental issues that are in play. But in general, our reading of it is that there’s relative consistency to the findings of those. There’s not contradictory studies that we were able to find that met our criteria of being either government sponsored or peer reviewed,’ Council said.” Source: Samantha Weigel, “San Mateo officials against using recycled tires for park,” in The Daily Journal, 23 February 2015, at http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/lnews/2015-02-23/san-mateo-officials-against-using-recycled-tires-for-park/1776425138845.html  

[No. 38] Montgomery County, Maryland, joins New York City, Newton (Massachusetts), Los Angeles Unified School District, and Los Angeles Department of Recreation & Parks to move away from crumb rubber infill in artificial turf fields. In 2008-2009, New York City decided to move away from crumb rubber infill at its artificial turf fields. For the story, see http://www.synturf.org/crumbrubber.html (Items No. 20, 21, 22, 26 and 27).

On 20 January 2009, the legislative organ of City of Newton, Massachusetts, the Board of Aldermen, adopted a resolution calling for “eco-friendly” artificial turf fields. Adopted on first call, with no debate, by a vote of 22-0, with two absent, the operational Resolution #7-09 read:

WHEREAS, the Board of Alderman has approved funding for the installation of synthetic in-filled turf athletic fields on city-owned property; and

WHEREAS, the use of synthetic turf and infill products that, to the maximum extent feasible, are sustainable, recyclable, and free of lead, carcinogens and other potentially harmful substances will best promote and protect the public health and safety, and the environment;

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Board of Aldermen hereby requests that His Honor the Mayor ensure that the installation of synthetic in-filled turf athletic fields on city-owned property shall use sustainable, recyclable, lead-free, non-toxic products to the maximum extent feasible.

For the full text of the Newton Board of Aldermen resolution, see   http://www.synturf.org/images/7-09ResolutionTurfHess-Mahan01-07-09.pdf

In October 2009, as the result of a challenge by a group of citizens the City of Newton, Massachusetts, by his mayor, agreed to a number of conditions in order to pave the way for the completion of an artificial turf field in Newton South High School (“Settlement Agreemnt).” Among the conditions were a series of tests and studies that the City undertook to carry out—including those required by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. Item 1 (h) of the agreement provided:

Newton agrees that at the future time of full replacement of the synthetic turf carpet, Newton shall consider the use of alternative in-fill material other than crumb rubber in-fill, including in-fill materials made of natural ingredients that are biodegradable which is demonstrated to have performance viability comparable to crumb rubber, if then available.

The text of the Newton Settlement Agreement is available here.

Meanwhile, still in 2009, Angeles Unified School District did the same. Recently, in 2014, Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks decided to move away from crumb rubber infill as well. For the story, see http://www.synturf.org/precautionaryprinciple.html (Item No. 03).

According to a news report on Montgomery Community Media (10 February 2015), on 10 February 2015, the Montgomery County Council voted unanimously in favor of a resolution “to support use of plant-derived materials for infill in artificial turf playing fields.” The resolution was vetted first by the Council’s Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee. According to the Chair of the committee, Roger Berliner, “[f]or years, community members have expressed concerns about the potential health and environmental impacts of crumb rubber used in our County’s artificial turf fields. Today, our County turns the page on this debate. Going forward, our artificial turf fields will use plant-derived materials that do not pose health or environmental concerns. Significantly, this is a decision that has the unanimous support of the Council, our Parks Department and our school system.” Sonya Burke, “Councilmember Berliner Applauds Council “Turning the Page” on Artificial Turf,” on Montgomery Community Media (MCM), 10 February 2015, at http://www.mymcmedia.org/councilmember-berliner-applauds-council-turning-the-page-on-artificial-turf/ 

The Agenda packet relating to County Council resolution – as posted at http://montgomerycountymd.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=6&event_id=1709  (Item 3.L) (available also here) consists of a Memorandum from Senior Legislative Analyst to the Council, dated 6 February 2015, and its attachments: Memorandum from the Transportation, Infrastructure, Energy and Environment Committee to the Council, dated 5 November 2014, and the “Summary of Study Results for Alternative Infills for Synthetic Turf Fields,” dated 23 January 2015, are found here.

SynTurf.org Note: It is SynTurf.org’s position that the fact of availability of alternative infills should never be a reason or a justification for installing artificial turf fields. According to Nancy Alderman, President, Environmental and Human Health, Inc., www.ehhi.org, “[n]one of the alternative [infills] ha[s] been independently tested,” she wrote in an e-mail to EHHI’s list on 13 February 2015. “There is really nothing known about these—and people should be advocating natural grass—not additional synthetic fields. No one has even discussed whether the plastic grass itself posses health problems—no[.] one has looked at it—and we simply have no idea.”

 

[No. 37] RAMP’s analysis of synthetic turf chemicals (October 2007)—new link. The document entitled Synthetic Turf Chemicals, dated October 2007, was first reported on the website of the Institute of Health and the Environment of the State University of New York at Albany as an emerging environmental issue (“Possible Health Effects of Synthetic Turf” http://www.albany.edu/ihe/emerging.htm  at http://www.albany.edu/ihe/SyntheticTurfChemicalsdar.htm) and reported also at http://www.nyenvirolaw.org/nyeljp-turf_files/SyntheticTurf%20RAMP%20Sciencecorps%20Site.htm . Because of the importance of this document, SynTurf.org would like to re-introduce it at its new address at http://www.albany.edu/ihe/Synthetic_Turf_Chemicals.php (and now also available also on SynTurf.org here).

[No. 36] Medway, Massachusetts: Turf Grass Forum addresses use of crumb rubber in artificial turf fields.  On November 19, 2014, a panel of four speakers, invited by a group of residents of Medway—the “Medway 6” that comprises the nucleus of Turf Grass Forum www.facebook.com/turfgrassforum, discussed the use of crumb rubber (tire crumb) in artificial turf fields before a well-attended crowd assembled at the Medway Middle School auditorium. Among the speakers were an old hand in the rubber and tire industry, Michael Blumenthal, with 29 years experience in the scrap tire industry. In period between 1990 and 2014 he represented US-based tire manufacturers first as executive director of the Scrap Tire management Council and then as Vice President of the Rubber Manufacturers Association. The other panelists included Domenic Carapella of GeoSafePlay/GeoTurf USA and Joe DiGeronimo, a member of the Synthetic Turf Council and Association of Synthetic Grass Installers. As complied by www.ehhi.org the following statements were made:  

1.  There is one waste tire for every person in the United States.

2.  In 1990, the US banned waste tires from going into landfills.  The government therefore had to find another way to get rid of used tires.

3. By 1992 ground up used tires were worked into asphalt—but that did not get rid of enough of the tires.

4. Then used tires were ground up into different sizes and used for toddler playgrounds, synthetic turf fields, and garden mulch.

5. 1,000 new fields are being installed every year .

6. Fields last about 8 years—and then the old rubber tire infill goes into landfills.

7. It costs about half again as much as the original field to replenish the synthetic field after is wears out.

8. The cost of removal of rubber tire infill from a field costs $ 50,000.

9. To infill a field with another type of infill will cost $125,000. So the total cost of removing the rubber tire infill and replacing it with something else is about $200,000.

10. The synthetic turf fields are infilled with so many different tires that if you test for chemical content you will get one result from the 10 yard line and a different result on the 50 yard line.

11. Small children and young students breath faster than adults and they are closer to the ground. Their exposures are therefore probably much higher than older students.

12. There are nano black particles in the manufacturing of rubber tires.

Moderated by Steve Aveson of New England Cable News, the videotaped panel discussion, which also featured the managing editor of SynTurf.org, can be viewed at http://www.medwaycable.com/video/turf-forum-11-19-14 courtesy of Medway Cable Access.

[No. 35] Nanoparticles of carbon black and other substances of concern in crumb rubber. SynTurf.org, Newton, Mass. 12 October 20124. In 2009, Jim Novak of Turfgrass Producers International published an article entitled “Exposure to crumb rubber nanoparticles could lead to serious health issues.” In the same year, the article appeared in Turf & Recreation, a national publication serving the Canadian turf and grounds maintenance industry (http://www.turfandrec.com/). The following is the verbatim republication of that piece as it appeared in Turf & Recreation at http://www.turfandrec.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2986  (2009).

I’M not a big fan of articles that pose a lot of questions and offer few, if any, answers. Listening to conspiracy theories, hearing “what if” scenarios, or reading articles that make unfounded claims and present mere speculation often do little more than ruffle the feathers of a few people and enrage others.

 The debate over the health safety of synthetic turf fields has gone back and forth for years. Concerns about toxic metals, silica sand, staph infections, dangerously high surface temperatures, proper methods of disposal, etc., are just a few of the significant issues that have come under scrutiny.

However, there are times when information comes to light that requires broader attention. Such is the case with a growing concern expressed by many health care professionals and research scientists regarding the possible health consequences of carbon black nanoparticles present in tires that make up tire crumb; the most common infill used on artificial turf fields.

Nanoparticles are particles less than 100 nanometres in diameter. A nanometer is a billionth of a metre, about the size of six carbon atoms in a row.

For comparison, a human hair is about 80,000 nanometres wide and a strand of DNA is two nanometres wide. To visualize it another way, a nanometre is to one inch as one inch is to 400 miles.

Whether you are for or against artificial turf, this subject is important; especially if you have children who play on artificial turf fields or visit playgrounds that use tire crumb for cushioning; or if you are a student or professional athlete who plays football, soccer, rugby, lacrosse or baseball on fields that use tire crumb as an infill.

The concern: Carbon black nanoparticles make up 30 per cent or more of car tires; the same tires that are pulverized for creating the tire crumb used on artificial turf playing fields and on playgrounds for children. Engineered carbon nanotubes and other engineered nanoparticles (zinc, titanium, etc.) are often made in specific shapes to give added strength and durability to tires and other goods. It is the long thin nature of engineered carbon nanotubes that has some scientists drawing a comparison between the possible health hazards of tire crumb with asbestos.

How do carbon nanotubes affect lung tissue?

The study Greenemier referenced was posted by Nature Nanotechnology led by the Queen’s Medical Research Institute at the University of Edinburg/MRC Center for Inflammation Research in Scotland. Their research showed that long, needle-thin carbon nanotubes could lead to lung cancer and inhaling carbon nanotubes could be as harmful as breathing asbestos.

A carbon nanotube is a carbon molecule that resembles a cylinder made out of chicken wire that is one to two nanometres in diameter by any number of millimetres in length. Nanotubes have a tensile strength 10 times greater than steel and they are considered the strongest material for their weight known to mankind. It should be noted that carbon black is a natural although manufactured material made up of carbon nanoparticles; carbon nanotubes are created/engineered by scientists and are much rarer although apparently highly toxic at low concentrations.

The study suggested that inhaling carbon nanotubes could lead to the same cancer and breathing problems that prompted a ban on asbestos as insulation in buildings.

The research scientists observed that long, thin carbon nanotubes look and behave like asbestos fibres, which have been shown to cause mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the membrane lining the body’s internal organs (particularly the lungs) and can take 30 to 40 years to appear following exposure.

Asbestos fibres are especially harmful, because they are small enough to penetrate deep into the lungs yet too long for the body’s immune system to destroy. Just how small are carbon nanotubes? They are no thicker than an atom, or one billionth of a metre wide, or approximately 10,000 times smaller than a human hair.

Andrew Maynard, the study’s co-author and chief science adviser for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholar’s Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies based in Washington, D.C., has been researching and warning of the potential health and environmental risks of carbon nanotubes since 2003 and is quoted as saying there had been no coordinated effort to date to analyze the findings of carbon nanotube toxicity studies.

Since the initial release of the MRC study other researchers have expressed their concerns as well. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported their research methods demonstrate that breathing nanoparticles may result in damaging health effects.

NIOSH scientists invented a way to suspend nanotubes in the air so the concentration of particles could be carefully controlled. Mice were placed into a carefully-controlled environment where they could breathe the air containing the particles. Scientists studied the effects of exposure after one, seven, and 28 days. The research showed that carbon nanotubes were more potent when inhaled than when aspirated. In addition, the research showed early indications of serious health outcomes that may have longer term effects such as cancer, and therefore, ongoing research is important to more clearly understand the implications of exposure to carbon nanotubes.

In May 2008, Nature Nanotechnology reported a similar finding, “Carbon nanotubes introduced into the abdominal cavity of mice show asbestos-like pathogenicity in a pilot study.”

The study reported, “Carbon nanotubes have distinctive characteristics, but their needle-like fibre shape has been compared to asbestos, raising concerns that widespread use of carbon nanotubes may lead to mesothelioma, a cancer of the lining of the lungs similar to that caused by exposure to asbestos.

“Exposing the mesothelial lining of the body cavity of mice, as a surrogate for the mesothelial lining of the chest cavity, to long multi-walled carbon nanotubes results in asbestos-like, length-dependent, pathogenic behaviour. This includes inflammation and the formation of lesions known as granulomas. This is of considerable importance, because research and business communities continue to invest heavily in carbon nanotubes for a wide range of products under the assumption that they are no more hazardous than graphite. Our results suggest the need for further research and great caution before introducing such products into the market if long-term harm is to be avoided.”

How do carbon black nanoparticles get to brain tissue?

Peter Gehr, a professor of histology (the study of tissue) and anatomy at the University of Bern in Switzerland, stated that synthetic nanoparticles can penetrate tissue and cells, and spread throughout the body—even to the brain.

Gehr is astonished that potential health risks of synthetic nanoparticles are barely acknowledged outside the scientific world and government agencies. “If nanoparticles are not solidly bound to another material, there is a risk that we could inhale them. They can enter the bloodstream and spread throughout the entire body. The mere fact that particles penetrate into the body is a problem.”

Carbon black nanoparticles: what about the children?

Environment and Human Health, Inc. has asked the following questions about nanoparticles in the tire crumb infill used as mulch for playgrounds 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 jurisdictions 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 jurisdictions’ approvals for putting used tire crumb where children play?

4. Could this be another example of a toxic material getting out into the environment without enough testing?

Perhaps neuroscientist, Dr. Kathleen Michels summarized it best: “Carbon black is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room that no one wants to talk about, or take notice of, but it has the potential to wreck everything in its path. First, It has been declared a possible carcinogen by the U.S. government and by the World Health Organization. Then, carbon black used in tires consists of the purest, smallest (ultrafine) nanoparticles, giving them a unique potential toxicity throughout the body.

“Normally this might not be a problem for any individual, since most of the carbon black is trapped inside a tire. However, when you pulverize tires for use in children’s playing fields, whether done at ambient or cold temperatures, everything in them (including carbon black particles) becomes more available to interact with the environment and people since the surface area to volume increases exponentially as you go from whole tire, to pulverized tire granule to the dust that becomes airborne with weathering and the impact of each child’s footfall and body. Finally, the sheer concentrated volume of this pulverized carbon black material should get serious attention: tires are 30 per cent or more carbon black so a 200-ton tire crumb-laden sports field contains around 60 tons of carbon black—an unprecedented exposure that deserves serious attention and research.

“But carbon black is not the only nanoparticle containing component of tires. Engineered nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes, which may have asbestos-like toxicity, are also being added to tires. But how much and to which tires is difficult to determine. Which highlights a main problem with tire crumb: the recipe of any company’s tires is proprietary so we never know exactly what the ingredients are for any individual tire much less a bag of tire crumb (and even less the 30,000 or so tires in a sports field!).

“Some schools which have tire crumb on fields or playgrounds close to their classrooms report a fine grey dust on school surfaces inside when windows are open. Most artificial turf fields with tire crumb are still relatively young. There is no evidence yet of long-term harm from this unprecedented, often chronic, exposure of children to carbon black or other tire components from playing on tire crumb; but then again there are no studies on children exposed chronically to tire crumb over time. But there are worrying studies on exposure to carbon black particles in the air. Shouldn’t we be asking the questions and following up on the exposed children with research?”

Important: There are different types of nanoparticles made of different building blocks, and each type of nanoparticle can be unique in its actions and effects, and act differently in engineered products as well as in the body.

It is true that frequent exposure to nanoparticles from many consumer products means some nanoparticles are getting into us.

It is also true that cell studies suggest that some types of nanoparticles can damage the DNA or cause cell death in different parts of the body, such as the brain, the lungs or blood vessels.

The term “nanoparticle” is not intended to apply to all nanoparticles but, in this case, carbon black nanoparticles.

“People either have no idea about nanoparticles or do not regard them as a problem,” said Dr. Peter Gehr, professor of histology and anatomy at the University of Bern.

“The potential risks are also of little interest at the political level. People are simply not reacting to the possible harmful aspects of synthetic nanoparticles right now. The mere fact that particles penetrate into the body is a problem, but this is barely acknowledged outside the realms of science and government agencies.”

The aforementioned comments were based on research reports and articles from numerous health care organizations, research scientists, health care professionals and nanotechnology experts who represent a wide variety of non-biased and reputable sources. Because the subject matter is likely to stir interest and create some controversy, we have provided a partial list of numerous reference materials so readers can reach their own conclusion.

References

• “Study Says Carbon Nanotubes as Dangerous as Asbestos.” New research shows long, needle-thin carbon nanotubes could lead to lung cancer.

 Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-nanotube-danger

• “Association of Black Carbon with Cognition among Children in a Prospective Birth Cohort Study.” Harvard School of Public Health published in American Journal of Epidemiology

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/167/3/280.full

• “As Nanotech's Promise Grows, Will Puny Particles Present Big Health Problems?” Amid the great promise nanotechnology offers, big questions remain on health dangers posed by exposure to tissue-penetrating particles.

 Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=will-nano-particles-present-big-healthproblems

• “How dangerous are carbon nanoparticles?” Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine

http://www.item.fraunhofer.de/en/press-media/latest-news/pm-carbonblack.jsp

• “NIOSH Research Methods Demonstrate that Breathing Nanoparticles May Result in Damaging Health Effects.” National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2010-158/pdfs/NanotechParticles.pdf

• “Acute Pulmonary Response of Mice to Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotubes.” Inhalation Toxicology, 22(4): 340-347 (March 2010)

http://www.nanolawreport.com/In_Vivo_Abstracts_part_45.pdf

• “Carbon Black.” Wisconsin Department of Public Health

http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/eh/chemfs/fs/carblack.htm

• “Grappling With The ‘Gray Zone,’ Feds Focus on Nano Workers’ Health.” New Haven Independent

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/grappling_with_the_gray_zone_/

• “Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes—Significant New Use Rule.” Environmental Protection Agency

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2011-05-06/pdf/2011-11127.pdf

• “Frustrated phagocytes and the fibre paradigm.” Diamond Environmental Ltd independent Health, Safety and Training consultancy.

http://diamondenv.wordpress.com/2011/04/15/frustrated-phagocytes-and-the-fibre-paradigm/

• “Nanotechnology’s Public Health Hazard?” Science Now

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2008/05/20-01.html

• “Carbon Nanomaterials: Fine for Fly Food, Bad for Fly Coating.” Scientific American

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-nanomaterials-bad-for-fruit-fly-coating

• “Synthetic Athletic Fields—A Question of Ingestion.” The City of San Francisco City Fields Foundation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zsodulEmz0

• “Inhaled Carbon Nanotubes Reach Subpleural Tissue in Mice.” Nature Nanotechnology, 4(11): 747-751

http://www.nanolawreport.com/In_Vivo_Abstracts_part_41.pdf

• “Nanoparticles Induce Changes of the Electrical Activity of Neuronal Networks on Microelectrode Array Neurochips.” Environmental Health Perspectives

http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.0901661

• “Toxic Potential of Materials at the Nanolevel.” Science 3 February 2006: Vol. 311 no. 5761 pp. 622-627 DOI: 10.1126/science.1114397

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/311/5761/622.abstract

• “YouTube VIDEO — ‘Toxic Chemicals: The Safety of Synthetic Fields and How Environmental Laws are Failing Our Children’” — 9:40 into nanoparticles. Speaker: Dr. Joel Forman, associate professor of pediatrics and community and preventive medicine, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine and other researchers offer their latest findings on the potential health and environmental risks associated with crumb rubber in-fill used on synthetic turf fields. Panel: Dr. Susan Buchanan, clinical assistant professor, environmental and occupational health sciences, University of Illinois Chicago; Dr. Helen Binns, professor in pediatrics and preventive medicine, Children Memorial Hospital Chicago; and Carolyn Raffensperger, environmental lawyer and executive director of science and environmental health network.

http://www.findallvideo.com/toxic-chemicals-safety-synthetic-fields-how-environmental-lawsare-failing-our-children-pt-02/id/3325988535

• “Induction of Inflammasome-dependent Pyroptosis by Carbon Black Nanoparticles.” The Journal of Biological Chemistry

http://www.jbc.org/content/286/24/21844

• “Nanoparticles can penetrate brain tissue.” Interview with Dr. Peter Gehr, professor of histology (the study of tissue) and anatomy at the University of Bern in Switzerland by the Federal Office for the Environment (the Swiss federal government’s centre of environmental expertise). Dr. Gehr is internationally renowned as a researcher and for his studies on the behaviour of nanoparticles in the lungs and on their interaction with cells.

http://www.bafu.admin.ch/dokumentation/umwelt/10649/10659/index.html?lang=en

 SynTurf.org Note:  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell released the 13th Report on Carcinogens on 2 October 2014. The Report on Carcinogens (RoC) is a congressionally mandated, science-based, public health document that the National Toxicology Program (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/pubhealth/roc/roc13/index.html). The report identifies agents, substances, mixtures, and exposure circumstances that are known or reasonably anticipated to cause cancer in humans. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/news/newsroom/releases/2014/october2/index.cfm (Press Release, 2 October 2014). One of the substances identified in the study as a “known to be human carcinogen” is ortho-toluidine (or o-toluidine) (http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/content/profiles/toluidine.pdf), an isomer compound used in the manufacture of rubber and therefore tires. See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “Tire and Rubber Company (2) (o-Toluidine Exposure,” in NIOSH [National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health] Publications and Products at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pgms/worknotify/O-toluidine.html (1990, updated 13 July 2012 and further reviewed 3 February 2014). So by implication, crumb rubber in synthetic turf infill contains o-toluidine, which can cause cancer. See also Sam Pearson, “Federal report identifies tire-production compound as carcinogen,” in E & News (Environment and Energy Publishing), 2 October 2014 at http://www.eenews.net/search/stories?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keyword=sam+pearson&commit=go%21&date%5Bfrom_month%5D=10&date%5Bfrom_day%5D=2&date%5Bfrom_year%5D=2014&date%5Bto_month%5D=10&date%5Bto_day%5D=2&date%5Bto_year%5D=2014 .

 

[No. 34] Andrew McNitt: Between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of crumb rubber can come out [migrate] of a field each year. Andrew McNitt should know. He is the Program Coordinator of Turfgrass Science Major, Professor of Soil Science, and Director of the Center for Sports Surface at Penn State (http://plantscience.psu.edu/directory/asm4) (pdf). His research studies/experiments about artificial turf are chronicled at http://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc (pdf). His program, according to a press release, dated 29 July 2009, at Penn State University was started in partnership with a purveyor of artificial turf fields. The idea behind the partnership was to “develop a facility dedicated to sports surface research, with a five-year commitment that will center around research on synthetic turf, running tracks and indoor sports surfaces.” According to the press release, “[t]he new Center for Sports Surface Research will be an intercollegiate program managed within the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and headed by Andrew McNitt.” “McNitt is regarded as a pioneer in the world of sports surface research, particularly as it relates to natural and synthetic turf, and conducts research relating to athletic field surface characterization and golf green construction and maintenance,” the release stated. The text of the release is at http://www.prweb.com/releases/FieldTurf/PSU_Sports_Center/prweb2684034.htm (pdf).

According to news item in The Alamanc (16 Juen 2014), on 12 June 2014, McNitt, addressing more than 30 residents of Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, on the improvements to the fields at the municipality’s Main Park, stated “that natural turf can get muddy and only take one event before it needs to be groomed…. [R]esearch shows that most high school fields need to be renovated after 80 events per year. He said with artificial turf fields, the negatives are the cost, injury potential, heat and chemicals used in the turf…He added that with artificial turf, the crumb rubber or other type of infill needs to be replaced or ‘top dressed’ on a regular basis. He said between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of crumb rubber can come out of a field each year. With organic infill, some type of shock absorption pad would need to be used, which can run about $50,000….While McNitt is not a toxicologist, but a soil scientist, he said there are chemicals in artificial turf. They include alcohols, acids, ketones, esters, lactones and sulfur among others.” “The meeting was recorded and is available for view online at www.mtlebanon.org, and on Mt. Lebanon’s cable channels 17 and 34.” Source:  “Mt. Lebanon invites experts to talk turf,” in The Almanac, 16 June 2014, at http://www.thealmanac.net/article/20140616/NEWS/140619956 (pdf).

SynTurf.org Note: Where do the 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of crumb rubber migrate to? The environment; players’ clothes, eyes, mouth, stomach, shoes, cars; and the garbage can, and down the drain. Those that end up in the garbage can go to landfill that probably would not accept whole tires. Those that end up in the sewer end up in the municipal water and sewer treatment facilities. Now think of the same problem along the following lines: number of installed fields in the geographical region x 6,000-7,000 lbs of crumb rubber=y; y divided by number of average automobile tires that renders one pound of  crumb rubber=z. Z is the number of tires that migrated off the field in one year.

 

[No. 33] Before using pulverized styrene butadiene, consider this. Kelley Watts of SFPARKS – SHPFC, San Francisco, California, recently fired a letter to the California Coastal Commission Staff, challenging the revised finding of the Commission’s 9 May 2013 approval of coastal permit with conditions to renovate existing Beach Chalet athletic fields in Golden Gate Park. Kelley’s area of concern is that the Revised Finding is not in conformance with the Local Coastal Program (LCP) in that it allows the project to introduce over 400 tons of loose uncovered toxic styrene butadiene particles into the coastal zone.

The following is an expert of that challenge whose substance, in our opinion should a standard wrap-sheet on crumb rubber for distribution to policymakers and members of the public when the question of artificial turf arises in our communities.

BASIS OF CONCERN

What is styrene butadiene? Styrene butadiene, (sometimes called styrene butadiene rubber or SBR) is derived from tires. You may have seen it in particulate form fly up when athletes play in it on a synthetic field or perhaps when shaken out of children's hair and clothes. Hundreds of under-regulated chemicals and metals constitute a tire, including lead, PAHs, and carbon black.  Over 20% of a tire's chemical makeup is listed as causing cancer by the State of California's Office of Environmental and Health Hazard Assessment, OEHHA, based on the findings of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).

How much styrene butadiene particulate material will be used in the project? According to the leading supplier of San Francisco's styrene butadiene synthetic fields, one single football sized installation contains over 35,000 pulverized tires. If you stacked 35,000 tires side by side as we commonly see them done attire dealers then the stack would reach 3.86 miles high, (or 16 Empire State buildings).  The total amount of tire material used in the 7 acre Beach Chalet conversion project would create a stack well over 7 times more, (well over 25 miles high).

How exposed will the styrene butadiene particulates be to the coastal environment? Contrary to a common misconception, the styrene butadiene particles will not be covered by a plastic layer but will instead be on top of a plastic "carpet" sitting loose among the blades. The fact that one can hardly see the particles on a synthetic field illustrates how ultra-finely pulverized the tire particulates will be.  The particles are barely visible on a plastic “carpet” with a 1.75 inch blade height. The particles' small size creates a migratory inevitability throughout the coastal zone environment.

The following YouTube video clips illustrate styrene butadiene environmental impacts: (1) A compilation of news clips and accounts with a Bay Area presence. It contains multiple San Francisco and Bay Area synthetic turf installations with styrene butadiene infill. “YouTube Synthetic Turf Particles – SFPARKS” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2USPTy_wVM ; (2) A compilation of statements from medical doctors, pediatricians, and toxicologists addressing the potential health risks of exposure from styrene butadiene to children and pregnant women. “YouTube Children & Synthetic Turf – SFPARKS” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3sg2BNlLfU

 

[No. 32] Study: Risk of ingesting lead increases as size of crumb rubber gets smaller. According to an analysis by scientists from the Institute for Environmental Research at Yonsei University and Department of Preventive Medicine at Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, the exposure of lead ingestion and risk level increases as the particle size of crumb rubber gets smaller. The study looked at the ingestion exposure by particle sizes (more than 250 um or less than 250 um) of recycled ethylene propylene diene monomer crumb rubber that is used as infill in artificial turf. The analysis on crumb rubber was conducted using body ingestion exposure estimate method. Two methods using acid extraction and digestion extraction concentration were compared and evaluated.

As a result of the ingestion exposure of crumb rubber material, the average lead exposure amount to the digestion extraction result among crumb rubber was calculated to be 1.56×10-4 mg/kg-day for low grade elementary school students and 4.87×10-5 mg/kg-day for middle and high school students in 250 um or less particle size, and that to the acid extraction result was higher than the digestion extraction result. Results of digestion extraction and acid extraction showed that the hazard quotient was estimated by about over 2 times more in particle size of lower than 250 um than in higher than 250 um. There was a case of an elementary school student in which the hazard quotient exceeded 0.1.

The study is entitled Health Risk Assessment of Lead Ingestion Exposure by Particle Sizes in Crumb Rubber on Artificial Turf Considering Bioavailability by Sunduk Kim, Ji-Yeon Yang, Ho-Hyun Kim, In-Young Yeo, Dong-Chun Shin, and Young-Wook Lim. The study was published in Environmental  Health and Toxicology  2012), published online 2 February 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3278598/ .

 

[No. 31A] University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) research confirms existence of dangerous chemicals in crumb rubber and other used-tire products. This entry is an update of Item No. 31 below. Entitled “Hazardous organic chemicals in rubber recycled tire playgrounds and pavers” the study’s authors are Maria Llomparta, Lucia Sanchez-Pradoa, J. Pablo Lamasa, Carmen Garcia-Jaresa, Enrique Rocab and Thierry Dagnacc. This original paper from a multi-departmental investigators at the Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in Santiago de Compostela, Spain, was published on 22 August 2012 on line   http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.07.053 and made available at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653512009848 It is now available also at http://www.elcorreodelsol.com/sites/default/files/chemosphere_maria_llompart.pdf and here.

The following are from the abstract and conclusion parts of the study:

Abstract. "In this study, the presence of hazardous organic chemicals in surfaces containing recycled rubber tires is investigated. Direct material analyses using solvent extraction, as well as SPME analysis of the vapour phase above the sample, were carried out. Twenty-one rubber mulch samples were collected from nine different playgrounds. In addition, seven commercial samples of recycled rubber pavers were acquired in a local store of a multinational company. All samples were extracted by ultrasound energy, followed by analysis of the extract by GC–MS. The analysis confirmed the presence of a large number of hazardous substances including PAHs, phthalates, antioxidants (e.g. BHT, phenols), benzothiazole and derivatives, among other chemicals. The study evidences the high content of toxic chemicals in these recycled materials. The concentration of PAHs in the commercial pavers was extremely high, reaching values up to 1%. In addition, SPME studies of the vapour phase above the samples confirm the volatilisation of many of those organic compounds. Uses of recycled rubber tires, especially those targeting play areas and other facilities for children, should be a matter of regulatory concern."

Conclusion. "In this study, a large number of samples collected in urban play-grounds as well as commercial rubber pavers have been analysed. The samples were solvent extracted and analysed by GC–MS. The presence of hazardous chemicals was confirmed in all of them. Initial screening experiments allowed selecting 31 target compounds including the 16 priority PAHs, vulcanisation additives, antioxidants, and plasticizers. All samples contained PAHs …The most abundant congener was PYR, followed by NAP, PHN, FLA, and CHY. The considered most toxic PAH, B[a]P was found in 5 samples. The analysis of commercial pavers (recycled rubber tire tiles) showed unexpected results with extremely high PAH levels….All the 16 priority PAHs were found in all the samples….Phthalate plasticizers were found in all samples and, in general, their individual and total concentrations were considerably higher in the commercial pavers. The most abundant congener was DEHP…. Other emerging pollutants such as BTZ and BHT were found in all samples. Many of the target analytes were detected in the SPME experiments. Regarding PAHs, all the compounds found in the playground samples were identified in the vapour phase at room temperature excluding the less volatile ones. In the case of the commercial pavers, five-ring PAHs were also detected, including the carcinogenic B[a]P. BTZ, as well as the priority phthalates DEP, DIBP, DBP, DEHP, and BHT, were found in all cases, demonstrating that all these chemicals reach the vapour phase and can enter the human organism by inhalation. The present study highlights the presence of a high number of harmful compounds, frequently at high or extremely high levels, in these recycled rubber materials. Therefore, they should be carefully controlled, and their final use should be restricted or even prohibited in some cases."

[No. 30] Dr. David Brown, toxicologist, discusses crumb rubber in artificial turf fields. A video presentation, entitled: Artificial Turf: A troubling Perspective (September 2012) on Vimeo.com at https://vimeo.com/49518944 (from Amy Stephan). Dr. Brown is a public health toxicologist and serves as the Director of Public Health Toxicology at Environment and Human Health, Inc. (www.ehhi.org), a non-profit in North Haven, Connecticut.