THE GEN 5 SYNTHETIC ATHLETIC SYSTEM
The 2007 study conducted by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that recycled tires posed minimal risk when used as shredded loose fill, but again reiterated the importance of understanding local climate impacts because the tires may degrade differently in different conditions. They also concluded that they needed further research on the potential toxicity of crumb rubber.
Later in 2007, the Connecticut Department of Analytical Chemistry conducted some of the first experiments on the potential toxicity of crumb rubber. “The laboratory data presented here support the conclusion that under relatively mild conditions of temperature and leaching solvent, components of crumb rubber produced from tires (i) volatilize into the vapor phase and (ii) are leached into water in contact with the crumb. Based on these data further studies of crumb rubber produced from tires are warranted under both laboratory, but most especially field conditions.”
Each of these studies and others like them have each examined only one small piece of the puzzle. Compiled together, the picture still isn’t very clear. We don’t know long-term impacts. We don’t know how the various heavy metals and chemicals might interact and impact a developing child’s system. We don’t even know how much or which heavy metals and chemicals might leach in any specific application.
In the Face of Uncertainty
Our gap in knowledge has prompted actions nationwide including a federal investigation of artificial surfaces by the EPA and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Unfortunately, the federal focus will be solely on lead and not the plethora of other heavy metals and toxic chemicals comprising crumb rubber, scrap rubber, or solid surface composites.
Luckily, as we’ve been seeing a lot lately, states are picking up where the feds leave off. New York state assembly members have imposed a moratorium on the purchase and installation of synthetic turf pending further investigation into potential health effects. Separate bills in New Jersey and California legislatures would ban the installation of new fields until the completion of comprehensive health and environmental studies.