WHAT IS SYNTHETIC TURF?

The grass in synthetic turf (also known as artificial turf) is plastic, usually high-density polyethylene, polypropylene, or nylon. The tufts of grass are attached to a blanket or membrane and supported by the infill material. Some turf systems use little coils of polyethylene or nylon (sometimes called ‘thatch’) to provide additional support.

The pesky little black beads found on most artificial turf fields are ‘crumb rubber’, used as an infill material to support the grass. Most crumb rubber is made from recycled automotive tires and contains many harmful compounds. The exact mix varies from field to field, but common ingredients include latex, silica, black carbon, lead, zinc, barium, & selenium.

Alliance for Sustainable communities-Lehigh Valley

CAUTION ADVISED

Although the desire to improve access to sports fields is clearly well-intentioned, the risks that accompany synthetic turf need to be carefully considered. Issues of toxicity, movement, heat, cost, friction, sanitation, lifespan, maintenance, warranty, disposal costs, odor, loss of habitat, combustibility, should be thoroughly addressed before any decision to purchase is made. The community should carefully consider all the options including natural grass.

There are many manufacturers of artificial turf with different products and advertising claims. It is reasonable to expect vendors to identify the chemical ingredients of all turf components and provide a Material Safety Data Sheet on each component, especially the crumb rubber. If the crumb rubber is of unknown composition, that should raise a serious warning.

Tires are known to contain over 60 different substances. Typically, forty-five percent is vulcanized or cross-linked polymer, forty-five percent is carbon black, and the rest is dispersing oil, sulfur, synthetic fibers, pigments, processing chemicals and steel or fiberglass. Tire manufacturers use a variety of formulation recipes and Ingredients are often kept secret. Therefore the company that produces the crumb rubber will most likely have to analyze its composition on a regular basis to provide accurate information on ingredients, since different batches can be expected to vary in content.

When it comes to synthetic turf, the most sensible approach may be to follow the precautionary principle of assuming something involving chemicals is hazardous until scientific evidence proves that it is not. Some public health professionals are calling for a moratorium on installing any new fields that use ground-up rubber tires until the hazards are better understood. Some are also recommending that exposures to already installed fields that contain rubber-tires should be limited.

New Jersey Work Environment Council