Whitman HS Artificial Turf Football Field Fails Again. @mcps Pays for Upkeep on this field. What's the total so far?

After the zeolite infill failed at the @WWHSAthletics new artificial turf field, they replace it with a wood infill called #Brockfill. They promised it would not float or migrate. Then it rained. #whatabrock #fieldofbaddreams #hotmess @mocoboe @MCPSAthletics @bdubbsonline pic.twitter.com/xrwmV1Ku8R

— Safe Healthy Fields (@SHPFC) July 14, 2022

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Thursday, February 10, 2022

Breaking: Whitman HS Artificial Turf Field has Failed. 3 Yr Old Field not draining at required rate, infill must be removed.

https://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2022/02/breaking-whitman-hs-artificial-turf.html

Whitman HS Black & White: Safety concerns force closure of turf field

 

By Ethan Schenker

NOVEMBER 7, 2021

Whitman’s artificial turf field has closed for the remainder of the fall athletics season as a precautionary safety measure, Principal Robert Dodd wrote in an email to community members on Thursday. 

Both Whitman athletics teams and outside sports organizations use the field, which had undergone repairs by MCPS specialists in October. Administrators are collaborating with school system officials to further evaluate the turf’s condition to identify any additional necessary repairs, Dodd wrote in his message. 

Student athletes told The Black & White that the field’s turf was particularly slippery, and that players’ use of the turf stirred up dust particles during practices and games this season. The playing conditions may have led to an injury on the girls soccer team and frequent falls during field hockey games in recent months, according to players. 

Both teams’ playoff games were previously scheduled to take place at Whitman on Friday night, but the field’s closure forced the teams to play at Walter Johnson High School. 

“This is a popular field receiving a lot of use and after evaluation, ‘in an abundance of caution,’ the field needs maintenance,” MCPS Communications Director Chris Cram wrote in an email to The Black & White. “You can’t use a field while it is being re-conditioned.” ..

https://theblackandwhite.net/70713/news/safety-concerns-force-closure-of-turf-field/?fbclid=IwAR3cWvM_bc3Un3bop8vJ1IiMXAYEw0RXZHMF_wfuK-H-VdYWubGSvOyBYks

Breaking: 3 Year Old Plastic Football Field at Whitman High School Out of Commission for Playoff Games. Report [Pictures] Documented 27 Repairs in October.

Dear Walt Whitman High School Community Members,

The purpose of this email is to update the community on the state of our turf field and it’s use for sports and activities. The field has been used throughout the fall by multiple Whitman teams and outside organizations like MSI soccer. During the fall season, we have collaborated with MCPS in monitoring its condition. Subsequently, the field has undergone repairs and been assessed multiple times by MCPS facilities specialists to ensure the safety of our students and outside users. 

Out of an abundance of caution, we will not be using the field for the remainder of the fall sports season, specifically two home playoff games for girls soccer and field hockey respectively. Both of these games will be played at Walter Johnson High School on the evening of Friday, November 4. Whitman field hockey will play Urbana High School at 6:00pm and Whitman girls soccer will play Parkdale High School at 8:00pm. 

With the fall regular sports season concluded, we will collaborate with MCPS to further evaluate the playing surface of the field in order to identify any necessary repairs that need to be made in the months ahead. We will keep our community updated on any actions that are taken.  

While we are disappointed that we are unable to use the field for these two important games, we are nonetheless proud of all that our student athletes accomplished during the fall sports season at Whitman. As always, our students and parents are encouraged to attend these playoff games at Walter Johnson High School to support our field hockey and girls soccer teams. 

Sincerely,

Robert W. Dodd, EdD

Principal

Walt Whitman High School

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Image above shows Picture #27 of seam tears in Whitman High School/MSI artificial turf football/soccer field from October 19, 2021 Maintenance Report below: 

Walt Whitman High School - ... by Parents' Coalition of Montg...

Whitman HS Student Athlete Says: MCPS: Stop building more turf fields like ours #artificialturf

“And the field takes another victim!” 

For my soccer teammates and me, this joke has become all too colloquial at every home game. But as we waited two months for Whitman’s new turf field to open last fall, did we expect to be cracking that joke multiple times per game? Definitely not.

 The turf field was supposed to be state-of-the-art, made with a different material than older turf fields with “cancerous” black pellets at schools like Walter Johnson and Wootton. Whitman isn’t the only school that has this type of turf field; B–CC, Wheaton, Richard Montgomery and Einstein all have relatively similar surfaces...

...MCPS officials recently tested Whitman’s turf field and found that its surface is outside the FIFA range for the degree of friction and “too smooth” for FIFA standards — leading to athletes slipping, sometimes resulting in injuries. FIFA is the international organization that makes rules for soccer, whether for the World Cup final or a youth soccer game. I understand the “smooth” standards may be different for soccer than for other sports that play on the turf field, but I also know that other athletes still slip and fall on the surface of the field too.

Also, when it’s hot and humid outside, dust from the sand in the turf rises in the air. There’s a potentially toxic chemical called silica in the infill of the field, which rises from the turf surface. Symptoms of silica poisoning include shortness of breath, coughing and rapid breathing...

https://theblackandwhite.net/66448/opinion/mcps-stop-building-more-turf-fields-like-ours/

Parents in the Montgomery County school district are raising concerns about artificial turf.

Potentially toxic dust cloud from artificial turf field settles over Bethesda neighborhood

BETHESDA, Md. — Video and pictures taken Tuesday by neighbors of Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School show clouds of construction dust kicked up by crews placing infill on a new artificial turf field. Grass seed was replaced with materials called zeolite and silica. Safety sheets about those materials state airborne silica may “cause cancer by inhalation.”



https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/local/bethesda/dust-cloud-bethesda-chevy-chase-high-school-turf/65-f44b3c43-375c-44b5-b3b5-58358d615f93

injuries have continued. Not only are you putting their bodies in danger, you are also putting their futures at risk because their ability to perform is affected. It is unfair for the players that have worked so hard to have their opportunities for college scholarship potentially affected due to MCPS not choosing to do the right thing here.

From Molly Wichenbach public comment.

PUBLIC COMMENTS
BEFORE THE MONTGOMERY COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
July 11, 2019

RE: RICHARD MONTGOMERY HIGH SCHOOL’S DEFECTIVE AND DANGEROUS ARTIFICIAL TURF
FROM: JOSEPH P KING, STUDENT

Good evening members of the Board of Education and Superintendent Smith. My name is JOEY King and I am a student from Julius West. My brother is on the Richard Montgomery Football Team and I am here to speak on his behalf since he is at health class this morning.

Since football practice is about to start again, we have all been talking about various home-made padding that we may be able to use to protect his skin, elbows, and legs when practice starts again and during the season.

We were talking about the reports that you also heard about last month at this meeting and also about testimony that you heard last year school year from Molly Winchenbach from the Soccer Team. It seems sad to know that there still hasn’t been commitment by the County to do anything about this during the summer before all the athletes are back on the field. “Looking into it,” was the answer that was given at the last meeting but that is not a good enough answer and probably wouldn’t be one that our teachers would accept if we tried that.

MCPS has already sent out samples of the turf and found clear reasons for the difference between our
field and the other field at Whitman that was replaced recently. This has been known since February.
Can you please tell me, today, a reason that this is being ignored?

• RM’s field is four times the FIFA standard!

Can you please tell me, as I am sure you have found out by now, what was the reason for this?
Who is responsible?
When is it going to be fixed?

MCPS has already verified what was obvious: there is something very wrong with the RM turf and the injuries are too many.
What are you going to do about it?

The band-aid that MCPS came up with last spring did not work. The injuries have continued.
Not only are you putting their bodies in danger, you are also putting their futures at risk because their
ability to perform is affected. It is unfair for the players that have worked so hard to have their
opportunities for college scholarship potentially affected due to MCPS not choosing to do the right thing here.

This cannot be the outcome with which you are satisfied.

I have heard that MCPS is in the investigating the replacement of all or most of the fill in RM’s turf all at once over the summer but, since I haven’t heard more, I am afraid that you have decided to not allocate funds or energy for us.

For the sake of my teammates, I am asking you to ensure this remediation gets done immediately.
Please. Do you agree that you owe it to the students whose health and safety you say are your top
priority.

You know, for fact, that this turf is 4x the standard for abrasiveness.
You know the reasons why it is so abrasive.
You know what you need to do to fix it.
Don’t waste anymore time while more students get hurt.

Please. Do it now.

Thank you.

NEW: RMHS Athlete was Correct. RMHS Field is More Abrasive. Confirmed Again in July Test. #artificialturf #GrassIsSoftest

In the fall of 2018, a Richard Montgomery High School athlete complained to the Board of Education about the abrasiveness of the new RMHS artificial turf field.
ABC7 covered the story.

http://parentscoalitionmc.blogspot.com/2018/11/7-on-your-side-students-wounded-by.html

Now, in August of 2019, MCPS releases new abrasiveness test information that shows the RMHS artificial turf field is still the most abrasive surface of the fields tested.  For comparison, the first image shows the abrasiveness of Kentucky bluegrass and Tall fescue.

https://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc/research/infill/abrasion-indices-of-synthetic-and-natural-turf

MCPS Field Testing of Artif... by Parents' Coalition of Montg... on Scribd

Board of Ed Releases Only One Page of Three Page February Artificial Turf Report. Report Shows Whitman Got Taller Plastic Grass and ZEOFILL is Abrasive Infill.

Handwritten notations and highlighting have been added. 

The above page from a February Report on artificial turf infill was posted to the Board of Education's Agenda for the June 24, 2019, meeting (video of parent reporting on continuing injuries to athletes from Richard Montgomery HS artificial turf).

Also posted with this page of the Labosport Report was information from MCPS showing which field was referenced by each column of the chart.  We have made notations on the above Report showing which MCPS field the data refers to and what type of infill was used at each field.

Pages 1 and 2 of the Labosport Report were not made public.  

The Labosport Report shows that the Whitman High School artificial turf plastic grass is taller than the plastic grass installed at Richard Montgomery HS and Einstein HS.  The Report also shows that the Richard Montgomery HS infill is highly abrasive.  In addition, in the columns evaluating the ZEOFILL infill we see higher numbers for abrasiveness.

This Report shows that there is increased abrasiveness when ZEOFILL is used in the infill.

Why has the Board of Education been withholding this report from the public since February?  Students continued to use these fields even when the Board of Education KNEW there was a hazardous situation causing injury to students.

When will the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf infill be REMOVED and REPLACED with a less abrasive infill?
 

Breaking: Board of Ed Keeps Dangerous Field in Use Despite Testing Showing Field 4 Times as Abrasive as FIFA Standard. #SueUsWeDon'tCare #SuckItUpKids

Public Comments of Jennifer Young

Before the

Montgomery County Board of Education

 June 24, 2019

On Richard Montgomery High School’s Artificial Turf

Good evening members of the Board of Education and Superintendent Smith.  You
may remember at the CIP hearings in November a student from Richard
Montgomery who plays on the soccer team as a goalie, Molly Winchenbach.  She
testified about the unusual abrasiveness of RM’s new artificial turf field and the
resulting injuries suffered by student athletes.  She is my daughter.  She would be
here tonight to give you this update and make this plea herself, but she is at practice.  High school athletes never seem to have a season off these days.

To MCPS’s credit, after Molly’s testimony, they sent out samples of RM’s and Whitman’s artificial turf for independent testing to a lab in Canada.  Both
fields had been installed at the same time using the same organic Zeofill rock/sand mix but their effect on the athletes was drastically different with RM’s field causing substantially more serious abrasion injuries.  That different experience of
the athletes was confirmed by the objective tests.  Although in my meeting with the
Director of Construction and Director of Athletics back in February to go over the
results of the tests, I was not permitted to keep a copy, I wrote down the pertinent
results right after the meeting, so my numbers are within a few points.  There was
agreement in the room that the results were shocking.  The abrasiveness of the field
was measured against FIFA’s standard of 30.

Old crumb rubber fields tested a 3. 

Whitman’s field tested a 20.  

RM’s field tested 128!
Four times the FIFA standard!

The lab tests also figured out why – the volcanic rock particles used in
the RM field Zeofill were much larger than those used at Whitman, and at RM, the
rock was layered with the sand like a cake, rather than all mixed together, as it was
at Whitman.  

Now that MCPS has verified what we have been saying all along – there is
something very wrong with the RM turf – it is so abrasive, it is tearing the skin off
the athletes, what are you going to do about it?  MCPS thought that perhaps they
had solved the problem for this spring.  They had removed some of the fill and
tried to mix up the layers more by deep tining it.  The plan then was to just replace
the offending larger particle fill with the smaller particle fill gradually with regular
monthly maintenance.  But, I’m here to tell you, on behalf of my daughter and the
other student athletes who are using and will be using this field in the fall
regularly, that MCPS’s remediation plan is not aggressive enough.  I’ve provided
you with a picture of what happened to Molly’s leg the first time she slid on the
turf this spring to stop a ball coming into the goal.  The RM turf scraped off the top
layer of about 6 inches of her skin.  This cannot be the conditions under which you
expect student athletes to play.  While all athletes may not experience the
abrasiveness of the RM field the same, it is particularly damaging to the students,
like Molly in positions, like goalie, who have to slide on the turf all the time.   She
plays on turf all over the county, both indoor and outdoor, and only receives
serious injuries like this from the RM turf.  

I understand that MCPS is in the process of asking the manufacturer of the
turf how much it will cost to replace all or most of the fill in RM’s turf all at once
over the summer.  I am asking you to ensure this remediation gets done
immediately.   (And any cost should not come out of CIP funds already allocated
to capital expenditures for RM, which needs substantial expansion over the
summer just to keep up with its ever growing student population.) You owe it to
the students whose health and safety you say are your top priority.  You now know
this turf is 4x the standard for abrasiveness, you know the reasons why it is so
abrasive, and you know what you need to do to fix it.  Don’t waste anymore time
while more students get hurt.  Do it now.
 Thank you.

UPDATE:  Board of Education sneaks February Report on to their website.

Board of Ed now Using Sand as Infill on Plastic Fields. FYI: "Crystalline silica is widely used in industry and has long been recognized as a major occupational hazard, causing disability and deaths among workers in several industries."

EPA’s view on crystalline silica. The EPA’s longstanding view of crystalline silica is contained in a document entitled, Health Effects of Inhaled Crystalline and Amorphous Silica, EPA/600/R-95/115, 1996. It is available at here or at the EPA’s website at http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimsapi.dispdetail?deid=12999. The study’s abstract states, “Recently, public concern regarding nonoccupational or ambient silica exposure, mainly to crystalline silica, has emerged making it important to evaluate background and ambient concentrations. Ambient emissions of silica rarely are estimated or measured in air pollution studies of particulate matter. Crystalline silica is widely used in industry and has long been recognized as a major occupational hazard, causing disability and deaths among workers in several industries. This is a health risk assessment covering the causes and studies of crystalline silica exposure.” For further information on this subject, contact the EPA ( www.epa.gov ) at  ncea.webmaster@epamail.epa.gov .

http://www.synturf.org/silica.html

RM High School Field Infill is 96% SAND (not the zeolite MCPS claimed would be infill)

The field test report for the new Richard Montgomery High School {RMHS) artificial turf football/soccer field shows the infill used on the field is 96% SAND and only 4% Zeofill.

When the RMHS artificial turf football/soccer field was being replaced, MCPS administrators claimed the infill was going to be zeolite.  The specifications for the project claimed the infill was going to be zeolite/sand.  However, the final infill that is actually on the field is 96% Sand and only 4% Zeofill, more of a sand/zeolite infill as SAND is the predominate infill on the surface of the plastic.

This new information as to the content of the RMHS infill may explain why RMHS athletes were getting injured on the new artificial turf surface.

Richard Montgomery HS ASTM ... by on Scribd

Breaking: "Dangerous" Artificial Turf Issue Closes Richard Montgomery High School Field

The Parents' Coalition has learned that the brand new Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field was closed in November due to "dangerous-turf" issues.  

The Richard Montgomery High School (RMHS) replacement artificial turf field opened on August 24, 2018, and by the end of November the field was closed for "dangerous-turf" issues.  For those following the many issues surrounding the replacement of this plastic field the "dangerous-turf" issues come as no surprise.

To date, we have documented the following issues surrounding the replacement of the RMHS artificial turf field:

• In 2014, we saw that the RMHS artificial turf field was already failing.

• In 2016, the RMHS artificial turf field had failed. Yet, the Board of Education continued to keep the field open and put students on the field for athletic events. 

• MCPS did not have the RMHS plastic grass field replaced under warranty.  Instead, they allowed the defective field to be used and did not require the vendor to replace the field under warranty.  

• MCPS did not have any funding to replace the RMHS plastic grass football field.  Money was taken from the Operating Budget (teacher salaries and classroom supplies) to replace a plastic football field.  Initially, the Superintendent's office said money for new artificial turf fields was going to be used for the RMHS replacement field, but later said the money was coming from the Operating Budget.   The original MCPS-FieldTurf-County Council scheme hatched in 2011 was that the rental fees from the artificial turf fields would pay for the replacement of the fields.  Rental fees from these fields have not come anywhere close to paying for the replacement costs. 

• The Superintendent's office did not reveal the supplier of the infill for the RMHS replacement field.  Where the zeolite is mined and how it is tested is important with regard to the quality and safety of the rock, but that information was not revealed.

• The used RMHS artificial turf plastic field and the 120 tons of crumb rubber were not recycled as MCPS had promised.  Instead, the football field of plastic and 120 tons of crumb rubber were dumped in Baltimore County and in a Virginia landfill.   The Superintendent's office called the discussion of the plastic grass and 120 tons of crumb rubber pollution a "distraction from core mission." 

• The infill for the replacement RMHS plastic grass field was to be crushed volcanic rock known as zeolite.  Zeolite is commonly used as kitty litter because it is a pourous rock that absorbs moisture and odors.  Zeolite has not been evaluated for its safety as an athletic surface for children or adults.  The new RMHS plastic grass surface with the zeolite infill generated immediate complaints from athletes who said their skin was being repeatedly cut and gashed from the RMHS plastic grass surface. 

• Despite the numerous red flags and warnings concerning the Board of Education's decision to require zeolite as the infill in all MCPS plastic grass fields, the MCPS Superintendent's office continued to claim that the RMHS plastic grass would be "state of the art" and would "ensure student health and safety."

If the RMHS artificial turf replacement field is state of the art and would not harm students, why was the field closed in November, three months after installation? 

"Skin lacerations, gashes are open wounds for months, increased injuries" from NEW RMHS Artificial Turf #zeolite #plasticgrass #MoreBandages

At the November 8, 2018, Montgomery County Board of Education public hearing on school facilities a Richard Montgomery High School student gave public comment about the injuries caused by the new artificial turf at the school.  Watch her statement below.

The Board of Education calls this a "best practice."

The Board of Education used $562,721 of Operating Budget funds to pay for this artificial turf.  That means they sacrificed teacher salaries to pay for this new field.  They did not use Capital Budget (bricks and mortar) funds.  There is no money available to replace this field again.
Students will need to buy more bandages.

Zeolite RMHS documents Bids and Award

Parents' Coalition has obtained bid and award documents related to the artificial turf replacement at Richard Montgomery High School. The documents clearly show that bidders were required to use zeolite. Award documents are below.

Ntp Rep of Art Turf Rm Hs 6... by on Scribd

BOE 349-18 Award of Contrac... by on Scribd

Sprinturf Po 8373789 by on Scribd

Zeolite Required in Bid Specs for RMHS Artificial Turf Replacement

Parents' Coalition has obtained documents concerning the Bid Specifications and Request for Bids for the Richard Montgomery High School Artificial Turf. The Bid Request specifically requires the bidder to provide zeolite.

RMHS Turf Replacement Bid S... by on Scribd

Somerset ES cork infill not viable for use by Montgomery Parks

The Parents' Coalition obtained e-mails and documents from Montgomery Parks concerning their decision in 2016 to replace the Montgomery Blair High School artificial turf football field.

In the e-mail below was a discussion of the choice of contractor, choice of plastic carpet, and choice of infill for the new Blair High School artificial turf football field.  As part of the evaluation of these different products, the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field was evaluated and discussed.

From this e-mail, we learn that the Somerset Elementary School artificial turf field requires daily maintenance by MCPS staff and that Montgomery Parks had determined that the infill used at Somerset was not a "viable product." 

How many MCPS elementary school fields have staff brushing the field on a daily basis?  Who is paying for the increased maintenance costs of this plastic field?  

The e-mail contains a lot of additional information about how artificial turf fields are purchased in Montgomery County and how the fields are performing and annual costs associated with these fields.  None of this information is ever discussed by the Board of Education.   

Read the e-mail at this link:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a3c7sqzc1vvmxa3/2016%20Montgomery%20Parks%20email%20Somerset%20infill.pdf?dl=0

2016 Montgomery Parks Email... by on Scribd

Kitty Litter/Zeolite Dust Cloud at the New Whitman HS Artificial Turf Football Field. Play Ball, But Don't Breathe.

The dust you see in this video is the kitty litter/zeolite infill that the Montgomery County Board of Education now requires on all artificial turf football fields. Kitty litter/zeolite degrades and becomes dust. That is why it is considered a health hazard.

Good luck students.

MoCo Bd of Ed. Demands Zeolite, But Zeolite "degradation can cause dust which also poses a health risk."

High School Turf Fields Advisory Group Report: 

https://bellinghamschools.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/FinalRecommendationTurfFields.pdf

**BOE Finds $562,721 for Plastic Grass at RM High School.** Not Money for Teachers, Classrooms, Lead Remediation, Mold Remediation, Repairs, Grass Seed... BOE Intentionally Let Warranty EXPIRE! Did Council Appropriate these Funds for this Purpose?

The Montgomery County Board of Education intentionally let the warranty on the defective Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field expire and now they are going to use $562,721 of Operating Budget funds to replace this one plastic football field. 

The MCPS Real Estate department has been squirreling aways cash.  This money will be used to buy a new plastic field for Richard Montgomery High School.  Those funds are not listed in the MCPS Operating Budget documents in any discoverable location.  The image to the left shows the only mention of this fund in the FY19 MCPS Operating Budget.

Note that the Resolution (below) before the Board of Education on June 25, 2018, does not mention any approriation of these funds by the County Council.

The money in this "fund" has allegedly come in to MCPS through outside sources and is being immediately diverted to pay for plastic football fields without any discussion of the best use of these public school dollars. 

Probably the biggest source of cash for this fund is coming from Cell Tower revenue. 

That means that the high FARMS rate schools that have cell towers on their playgrounds and fields are paying for the plastic grass purchase at Richard Montgomery High School.  

In addition, MCPS has used Field Trip fees to fund Artificial Turf purchases. 

Remember that the actual Artificial Turf PLAN was that these fields would pay for themselves through field rental fees.  That has not happened. 

The Board of Education has not provided the public with an accounting for the funds being used to pay for the Richard Montgomery High School artificial turf field replacement nor are they bringing these outside funds before the County Council for appropriation. 

The failure to present a transparent budget Resolution to the public is on the Board of Education members four of whom are candidates in this year's elections. 

   Award Cont Replace Turf Richard Montgomery HS by Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland on Scribd