I promised I would go through the different chemicals, carcinogens, and elements that are in the crumb tire that your children will be playing on when they play any game on a synthetic field manufactured with crumb rubber, that is, a field that is made of used tires that have been crushed or ground into small particles. As you saw, I kind of got stuck on the lead, which is unhealthy in any amount. Which is why the artificial turf industry lobbied to make sure their product is not listed as a ‘children’s product.’ And it's not.
Heavy Metals.
Today, heavy metals. So here we go. First, zinc. Yes, zinc is a natural element that is found on the earth’s surface. Where it remains stable. However, it is commonly used in commercial manufacturing and that is why it is in tires. Well, to tell the truth, I don’t really know its function in manufacturing tires. But it’s there. And I won’t say, ‘trust me.’ Hey, you could look it up. And that is why it is in your child’s playing field if your child is playing on artificial turf made of ground up pulverized rubber tires - ambient, or 'cryogenic.' Doesn't matter. Yes, zinc is essential to humans – in small amounts.
However, it should not be ingested on the playing field. At least, I wouldn’t let my kid inhale or eat it that way. But, hey, that’s just me.
Other Trace Elements
Here are some other trace elements that researchers have found in tires:
Aluminum, arsenic, antimony, barium, cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, vanadium, titanium and of course zinc. Also, researchers found halides, like bromine and chlorine. Yum!
Not to worry, if your kid is like most kids, they get off that field, immediately head for a long, careful shower, and turn their clothes inside out and then place them in a plastic bag, as recommended by the State of New Jersey. Oh wait,…
Wash your Hands!
A 20-second hand washing is required, too. Now take a 20-second break from reading this, go to the bathroom, turn on the faucet, and when the water is warm, wash your hands for 20 seconds. Don’t cheat! Longer than you thought it’d be, right? Think your kid is doing that?
How long do you think your child washes their hands for before dinner? 7 seconds, maybe, I bet.
Too lazy to tear yourself away from the computer? Take your hands off the keyboard and rub them together for 20 seconds. Well?
Ok, back to zinc. Why zinc?
According to the California Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of Environmental Quality, tires contain about 1% zinc oxide. According to their DOT, “The main source [of zinc] is suspected to be wear and tear from tires.” And California doesn’t like it. Why? Because it becomes stormwater runoff and gets into our water.
But no worries here in Montgomery County, Maryland. Phil Andrews and the rest of the County Council, and our Montgomery County Public School (MCPS) Board of Education, led by Shirley Brandman, aren’t too worried about environmental impacts of zinc, lead, arsenic, or any of the other dangerous elements and metals that will be washing off the artificial turf during our heavy rains. And they most certainly don't care about your child ingesting them.
Chesapeake Bay? Rock Creek? Cabin John watershed? Potomac River? What? What? I can’t heeaar you…
So zinc. Zinc is carried into our water as a dangerous pollutant. Zinc then is ingested by fish, and sea mammals. Zinc is not necessarily toxic for your child. It is much more dangerous for your pet. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, it “interacts with components of the animal’s red blood cells and can cause weakness, trembling, and loss of appetite…” In other words, it is toxic.
It is one of the many heavy metals and carcinogens that leach out of the tire crumb on which your children are playing, to pollute our soil and water.
What are the other heavy metals that are in your child’s playing field? Stay tuned…
Why aren't you worried about the incredible amount of chemicals that leach off the pavement, cement, asphalt and other surfaces?
ReplyDeleteThere's more lead in lipstick and hairdyes than in artificial turf yarns anymore ... Is it because it's "plastic" grass?
Artificial turf isn't MADE FROM CRUMB RUBBER - I beg to differ - crumb rubber INFILL is only a single option that could be used on the top of the artificial turf and there are many viable alternative infill solutions you can ask your installer to use - do a google search on "alternative infill solutions" and you may find 10+ solutions ... OLDER turf may be problematic for lead in the fibers - due to the issue brought up in 2007 about the lead content at Ironbound field in New Jersey - the industry has raced to reformulate and not much contains even detectable levels of lead - most are far below lead standards for children's furniture ... so, perhaps a little more CURRENT research is needed in your efforts to inform?
But crumb rubber is what we have over at Richard Montgomery High School where the artificial turf has already been installed. No discussion of options for that field! And no discussion of the options for the Walter Johnson HS field. Who knew there were choices? Certainly not Montgomery County public!
ReplyDeletegoogle, crumb rubber is the choice of the Montgomery County Public Schools (Maryland) Board of Education, exclusively as manufactured by FieldTurfTarkett. You are so right that there are safer turfs out there, but the Board of Education only presented this one choice to the County Council, along with PR literature from FieldTurfTarkett to answer the very limited questions from the Council members regarding environmnental and public health. I am not sure where you are writing from, but Montgomery County, MD, is somewhat odd in that even though it is located in the United States, which is a democracy, the county itself is not a democracy, it is a cronyist government. So no, we don't have a choice or public discussion about best practices.
ReplyDeleteIt is not only the crumb rubber issue...it is the heat that the artificial grass emanates. It has almost the same solar reflectivity index (SRI)as asphalt!!! In fact, ask any artificial turf manufacturer what the SRI of their product and enjoy the tap dance! It raises the ambient temperature of the surrounding area by 10's of degrees, harbors staph...and uses water, potable water to "cool" the surface temperatures for sports and rinse off bacteria etc. I say cool but what I really mean is raise the humidity. Next time you are near the fake grass do the test yourself. Place your hand on the turf and then do the same on asphalt...same temperature. Same detrimental effect on our environment. Artificial turf is an environmental loser. See my blog at www.dnassociates.com/blog for more information on the "green poser"
ReplyDeleteDSN, thanks for the post. I did post previously about the 'heat island' created by the artificial turf. Go back through earlier postings and you can read the post that discusses heat islands. The Board of Education here and the County Council already know about this but they are not concerned according to Phil Andrews, the President of the County Council. They are satisfied with the answers they received from FieldTurfTarkett via the Board of Education. Here in Montgomery County, MD, as I said before, public discussions of these or any other significant issues facing the citizens are not allowed by the County Government. As regards the Board of Education, each citizen is allowed 2 minutes to speak. There is no response from the Board members. Sometimes there are facial reactions. These 'public comments' are usually allowed during the mid-morning time period, so only people that can afford to take time off from work can attend. This county is not a democracy, even though we are located in the United States. That may be what is confusing you.
ReplyDelete