SportsTurf

FACILITY & OPERATIONS 38 SportsTurf | July 2016 www.sportsturfonline.com BY JIM NOVAK wide and a strand of DNA is two nanometers wide. To visualize it another way, a nanometer is to one inch as one inch is to 400 miles. But even when they took into account the fact that no nanoparticle evaluations had been taken into consideration the comments by individuals associated with the study reveal a valid concern: "Not surprisingly, the shredded tires contain a veritable witches' brew of toxic substances. It seems irresponsible to market a hazardous waste as a consumer product."-Gaboury Benoit, PhD, Yale Professor of Environmental Chemistry and Engineering "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 play-grounds surfaced with rubber tire mulch are being exposed concurrently to multiple chemicals."-David Brown, ScD, Public Health Toxicologist "This study should give pause to all those schools, towns, and government agencies that have told the public these fields are safe. Exposing toddlers, students and athletes to this many chemicals, many at the same time, seems like an incredibly irresponsible experiment in people's health and needs to come to an abrupt end."-Nancy Alderman, president of EHHI W hen Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), released a report last year that was done at Yale University showing there were 96 chemicals in crumb rubber used as surfacing in toddler playgrounds and on sports fields, more than a few people weren't surprised. But what was surprising was the fact that of the 96 chemicals detected, nearly half had NO previous toxicity assessments done on them for their health effects. Of the half that had toxicity assessments, 20% are probable carcinogens; 40% of the chemicals in that group were found to be irritants. Twenty-four percent are respiratory irritants, some causing asthma symptoms; 37% are skin irritants; and 27% can cause eye irritation. That assessment would seem to be enough cause for alarm, but EHHI went on to note in their summary statement that they "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." Just how small are nanoparticles and why can't we see them? They are smaller than 100 nanometers in diameter. A nanometer is a billionth of a meter, about the size of six carbon atoms in a row. For comparison a human hair, is about 80,000 nanometers CRUMB RUBBER: SEEING IS BELIEVING BUT WHAT IF NO ONE CAN SEE IT? Editor's note: This viewpoint on crumb rubber's use on athletic fields is from the Turfgrass Producers International; next month we will present the viewpoint of the Synthetic Turf Council. California funds synthetic turf research In June 2015, the state of California announced they had authorized spending $2.9 million to study the health effects of crumb rubber. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), under contract from CalRecycle, the California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, is conducting the evaluation which, according to Washington D.C.'s WJLA ABC 7 News reporter Joce Sterman, is being designed to deliver the kind of information states, communities and parents are looking for so they can make informed decisions about installing synthetic turf fields that use crumb rubber infill in their community and in recreation areas. Sterman reported the California assessment will involve a series of scientific studies to determine if chemicals in tire crumb can potentially be released under various environmental conditions and what, if any, health risks these potential releases may pose to players who use synthetic fields constructed with tire crumb. The evaluation includes expert solicitation and stakeholder participation to help guide the design and EPA and other federal agencies are actively engaged in that process. Sterman added, "The EPA and other federal agencies are collaborating with California as they design and carry out their assessment. For example, scientists from EPA have been providing technical advice on the design of the studies and the EPA stated they "will continue to engage with California on the implementation of the studies as well as the interpretation of the results." TPI reached out to contact Dr. Melanie Marty, Acting Deputy Director for Scientific Affairs, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA),

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