Better Safe Than Sorry:
There is no harm in studying
the possible health ramifications of artifical turf made from old tires.
By The Day
[August 8, 2007] Why not err on the side
of safety and heed the recommendation of an independent environmental
group that has suggested a delay for towns or schools planning to
install artificial turf that is made from chopped up tires?
As schools and sports complexes across the country move toward
installation of the artificial athletic surfaces, questions have been
raised about the possible toxicity of their composition — rubber
pellets made from discarded and ground-up tires.
Recent preliminary tests conducted at the state-run Connecticut
Agricultural Experiment Station showed that volatile organic compounds
are being released into the air from the rubber pellets made from
groundup tires that form the fill material of the artificial turf.
The independent group Environment and Human Health Inc. commissioned
the Vo-Ag Station to do the study after questions about possible health
hazards related to the turf were raised. Locally, both Montville High
School and Connecticut College have fields made from the questionable
rubber pellets.
News that Environment and Human Health was recommending that
others planning to install the turf await further study before moving
forward has caused outrage among some supporters of the fake turf,
who consider it a safer option for athletes because it absorbs impact
and helps prevent some injuries better than natural grass.
It's also easier to maintain.
And for many communities, it is a symbol of athletic prestige.
All of that is fine.
But if reputable scientists at a state laboratory reported to
Environment and Human Health Inc. that preliminary tests showed a
dozen or more organic compounds were evident in testing of the pellets,
and suggested more studies be done, why ignore that advice?
The state Department of Environmental Protection has agreed to
study the possibility that toxic chemicals from the rubber pellets
could seep into groundwater. It is a cautionary measure. And interestingly,
support for installation of the artificial turf was spurred in part
by new state restrictions on pesticide application on natural turf
fields.
In this day and age, there are legitimate concerns about environmental
safety. We now know how ordinary things can hurt us. So what is the
harm in giving scientists a little more time to figure out what the
ground-up tires may or may not be doing to athletes?
Producers say the rubber pellets are inert and harmless. Let's
be certain.
Posted with permission from The
Day, New London.
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