THE GEN 5 SYNTHETIC ATHLETIC SYSTEM
Connecticut Senate Minority Leader John McKinney is working with the commissioners of the state’s departments of public health and environmental protection to find a way to use existing funds for a study. A bill by Minnesota State Rep. Phyllis Kahn also calls for a health study on the impacts of crumb rubber use. The earliest results from these studies are expected to be public by the end of the year. Still, most of these studies are limited at best, only addressing the use of crumb rubber on athletic fields. It’s a legitimate concern, but what about solid surface and loose fill like my daughter’s school playground?
While we wait for the jury’s verdict, I have a few questions of my own. It’s commendable to find alternative uses for old tires, but why where our children play? Why not use old tires for parking lots or industrial building components? Why not just make tires that aren’t so toxic to begin with? Michelin is beginning to experiment with new formulations since Europe’s new REACH policy will compromise their ability to sell tires there. Will Michelin sell us safer tires, too? And how about creating synthetic turf from safer materials? Or what about nature’s standards, like grass (grown without pesticides, of course) and sand? I know abrasion and impact absorption and durability are all factors, but why do we prioritize acute impacts so far above chronic ones?
Aside from my growing list of questions, I’m encouraged by the amazing innovations that address everyone’s concerns. There are certainly alternatives to crumb rubber. There is no longer a reason to sacrifice the playing quality and more importantly the health of children [playing on synthetic turf]. So often we dive into the unknown when we start using new products. We assume that they have been comprehensively tested for safety, but they aren’t required to be. When will we learn our lesson?
Crumb Rubber in Synthetic Turf
One of the primary materials often used in the installation of synthetic turf is crumb rubber. This granular material typically comes from scrap tires or other used industrial rubber. It is brushed into the synthetic grass and acts as a shock absorption material. Its role is to reduce injury and improve field performance. It has been in use since the 1990s and is often combined with raw sand, which provides ballast to hold the synthetic grass blades up.
Within the last year or so, a debate over the use of crumb rubber has grown. Recently, several non- governmental organizations and action groups are waging war on crumb rubber. They’re concerned about what they refer to as the “toxic” constituents of the material and what they perceive as a lack of sound technical data to allay their fears.