Today's Letter is Brought to you by "P" as in Pushing Plastic Playingfield

Remember Dustin Hoffman in "The Graduate?"

Given that our school system is so academically focused on its achievements, I am amazed that officials are pushing plastic playing fields on our kids and communities.

All the good news in the press about plastic grass seems to discount most, if not all, of the science behind the safety of these fields. Now its not just the alarmist parents who are weighing in - notable experts such as Dr. Philip Landrigan of Mt. Sinai Medical School, one of the well respected epidemiologists in the country, is on record as saying the toxic exposure levels for lead, a neurotoxin, and butadiene, a known human carcinogen, are serious environmental hazards. And lets not forget about MRSA and the extreme heat effects - that was last year's main issue.

Our officials in Montgomery County know better than the docs at Mt. Sinai. Look at the wonderful pilot at Richard Montgomery - with absolutely no data and the field just opening up to community users this month, Montgomery County can attest to the safety and durability of these fields. Walter Johnson and other schools can't wait to get their own plastic playgrounds. Thanks folks for being smarter than everyone else in the country and exposing our kids to a potentially precarious playing field. That's sure to level the achievement of all county students.