Wootton High School parents are being fed all kinds of ground up crumb rubber to get them to donate! Here's a fun statement from the Wootton Booster Club website:
Cost - while upfront costs are higher, 20-year lifecycle costs and reduced man-hours for maintenance are much lowerNow, here's hoping the Wootton parents don't get the idea that their plastic field is going to last for 20 years. It isn't. Wootton parents are going to have to pony up to replace the field, well in as little as 4 1/2 years! FieldTurf only warrants their fields for 8 years.
In 20 years, the Wootton parents will be shelling out for new plastic grass 3 times.
Wootton parents aren't being told that the cost of their plastic grass field is a few hundred thousand dollars higher than other schools pay for plastic grass from the same company.
Why is the cost higher? Because MCPS likes to overpay! MCPS doesn't put our RFP's for these projects, doesn't get competitive bids, and doesn't even get contracts! Imagine, if MCPS put out this project for competitive bids the Wootton parents wouldn't have to put up a dime! That's because the contribution from Bethesda Soccer would cover the cost of a new plastic grass field in any other school system. But, shhh, don't tell the Wootton parents. They are loving the thermometer on the Booster website and all the fun perks they can buy with their 100% tax deductible donation.
The county has authorized the construction of a heat island next to another high school. The field will off-gas hydrocarbons that collect soot from the tire crumb and make them immediately breathable by everyone using, and in close proximity to, the field. Students and staff who suffer from asthma should be cautioned to limit their exposure. It is a complete farce to talk about the mitigation of health and environmental concerns: Where are these research findings and who conducted the experiments? The county has done NONE of this work, in spite of what Mr. Starr may tell you. Doubting Thomases should visit www.safehealthyplayingfields.org.
ReplyDeleteThis will not be tire crumb. This will be waste rubber from the Nike plant. It will contain lead, zinc and who knows what else because there are no controls on rubber waste. No one knows what is in this industrial garbage.
DeleteFrom Sole Revolution at http://www.sole-revolution.com/faq#Cost
ReplyDelete"How long will Sole Revolution product last?
Sole Revolution with Nike Grind will last the life of the typical field, generally considered to be eight to 10 years for most manufacturers. Normal maintenance is required to ensure appropriate infill depth and consistency over time."
So yes, you do need to maintain these fields. With what? Why, with chemicals of course. It would be good to find out what the chemical soup is going to be that will be sprayed on these fields and then leached out into the Chesapeake Bay. And in 8 years, Wootton parents will get to pay to take their field to a hazardous waste landfill. Do not ask taxpayers to pay for that too. We have had enough.
Chemicals are sprayed on grass, sweet logic, bro. The maintenance will be additional rubber to maintain the integrity of the field. By the way, find one person who has played on a turf field and gotten sick as a result. They're better than grass, in my opinion, and never need to be painted after installation (by the way, field paint is incredibly toxic and is used on traditional fields daily). Everyone needs to chill out.
DeleteBro - they don't have to have chemicals. There are alternatives. There is better field construction for starters. MCPS doesn't construct natural grass fields - at all, and doesn't maintain them. So no worries on chemicals!
DeleteNow, you say "field paint is incredible toxic". OK - so what do you think makes plastic grass green? Toxic paint, bro! What makes the Nike Grind colors? More toxic chemicals, bro!
Stop freaking out about this stuff - nobody has gotten sick from a turf field. Please, please, please stop overreacting about this if there's simply a minute risk. You have no background in biochemistry or toxicity or immunology - therefore you have no basis talking about the health of people playing on the field. Grow up and chill out, bro.
DeleteFor bros that need to catch up:
Deletehttp://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2013/02/zinc-for-dummies.html
@Anonymous Feb 18, 5:48 PM, we know which chemicals are sprayed on grass, and we know there are organic alternatives. Not so for this artificial turf. Tell us, please, what is in the chemical soup that is going to be sprayed on the crumb rubber at Wootton? Please list them. Also, please explain how dozens of heat islands only have a 'minute effect' on climate change.
ReplyDelete