www.SynTurf.org

[No. 03] European concern about toxicity of zinc and zinc derivatives to the environment. Recently, one of SynTurf.org readers called our attention to an item, entitled “Banning of harmful chemicals will play an important role in the plastic industry.” It appeared in Plastemart.com, a Mumbai, India, website. The publication identified the source of the information as SpecialChem, which may well be the Swiss enterprise at http://www.specialchem.com . The piece can be accessed at  http://www.plastemart.com/upload/Literature/Banning-harmful-chemicals-play-important-role-in%C2%AC-plastic-industry.asp and can be viewed here.

REACH stands for the Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals. REACH  involves thousands of chemicals and materials that are sold in the European Union. The purpose of REACH is to increase knowledge about chemical substances marketed in the EU, and their uses, and to ensure that they are properly managed. The REACH regulations entered into force in June 2007, with specific regulatory components entering into force in June 2008.

Under REACH, the heavy metals that are of concern include mercury, zinc, copper, cadmium, vanadium and lead: they are harmful if spread in the environment. Zinc is used as a curing activator for rubber and therefore its presence in crumb rubber in infill artificial turf fields is particular concern to environmentalists. Copper is used in pigments for plastics and rubbers. Cadmium is a cumulatively toxic element. And lead accumulates in biological systems and is linked to behavioral changes, paralysis and blindness. It was used as curing activator or stabilizer for certain polymers.

With specific focus on zinc, the publication points out that –

In 1993 the Dutch National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM) presented an 'Integrated Criteria Document' for zinc, recommending for water a 'desirable' level of 9 µ/l and a maximum allowable concentration of 25 µ/l.

In 1995, zinc and zinc derivatives were included in a priority list of rubber chemicals compiled by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, which should be replaced or used restrictively.

In 1995, zinc and zinc oxide were placed on the second European list of priority substances in the EU Risk Assessment Programme.

In June 2002 the German Standard DIN 18035-7 "Sports Grounds, Part 7" "Artificial Turf Areas" was published. According to this standard, two leaching tests are required for post-consumer tyre rubber granulates used as infill material for artificial turf and the following limits are set in leachates:

•           0.5 mg/l after leaching with deionized water (DIN 38414-4)

•           3 mg/l after leaching with water saturated with C02

Between 1998 and 2004, draft Assessments were produced and responses put forward by the zinc chemical and rubber industries.

Since 29 April 2004 (see Council Directive 2004/73/EC, relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances) zinc oxide is officially classified as "Dangerous for the Environment" with the risk phrase "Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment", and with the safety advice "This material and its container must be disposed of as hazardous waste" and "Avoid release to the environment. Refer to special safety instructions/safety data sheets". Rubber compounds containing more than 2,5 % in total of zinc chemicals or other chemicals classified as R50/63 (such as IPPD) are classified as "Toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term effects in the aquatic environment".

[No. 02] Harm of zinc. The following is an excerpt from Chiara Canzi, “Turf v. grass: Have county schools rushed to judgment on the safety of synthetic turf?,” in Charlottesville News and Arts, January 13, 2009, available at

http://c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304062461064&ShowArticle_ID=11801201093638869 :

Although lead seems to have attracted the most attention, some believe another harmful chemical is found in the rubber. “The ground-up rubber tires have just a ton of zinc,” says Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human, Health Inc. Alderman’s organization is a Connecticut-based nonprofit that has questioned the safety of these synthetic turf fields for years. A study by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill cites cardiovascular damage as a possible consequence of continued exposure to zinc. A study by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services linked high levels of zinc to a decline in plant growth. With as little as 2 percent of zinc mixed with sand, plants stopped growing as a direct cause of zinc’s toxicity. In addition to zinc, the rubber could contain other metals such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead or selenium, according to Alderman.