Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Cancer-Causing Materials Found in School Turf in South Korea

Artificial turf, manufactured and installed worldwide, has become a danger to children around the globe. Substances that can cause cancer have been found in artificial turf at schools in South Korea. According to an environmental group in Gyeonggi Province, Monday, a large amount of poisonous metals and other harmful materials were found in man-made lawns in the playgrounds of three schools inspected at the beginning of this month. The environmental group said one of the three schools had 290㎎ of lead in its artificial lawn, three times more than the allowed figure of 90㎎, and other two schools had 46.7㎎ and 810㎎ of polyaromatic hydrocarbon, which includes Beazopyrene, respectively. Heavy metals such as lead can cause health problems when swallowed or inhaled. At very high levels they can cause seizures, comas and even death. Beazopyrene ㅡ more than 10㎎ of which is dangerous ㅡ is a product of incomplete combustion that can cause skin cancer. (The Korea Times, click here)

Lead in turf shuts East Harlem field

12/22 An East Harlem soccer field has been closed after elevated lead levels were detected in the synthetic turf installed five years ago, park officials said Monday. While the source of the lead contamination has not been confirmed, park advocates suggest the lead contamination may be due to the city's use of a type of synthetic turf that includes a cushion of pulverized tires, known as crumb-rubber infill. (NY Daily News, click here)

San Jose unifed delays decision on artificial turf after parents complain

Safety concerns about new synthetic turf on a San Jose elementary school playing field could mean at least one local campus will keep real grass.
The San Jose Unified School District board delayed a decision on Dec. 11 about installing turf at Trace Elementary School — the most recent campus targeted for the artificial turf — after many Rose Garden neighborhood parents from Trace said they wanted to keep ordinary grass on the field. The trustees said they would review information about the turf and revisit it at their Jan. 22 meeting. (Mercury News, click here)

Turf field in Redwood City needs $905,447upgrade before warrantee ends

Hoover Park's plastic grass field has deteriorated faster than expected.
With two years still left on the warranty from its installation in 2002, the turf company offered the city a discounted upgrade to a new-and-improved turf product that it says is more durable...at a "discounted" price of $905,447! The city said it circumvented a competitive bidding process for the project, which is usually required by state law, because Oregon-based FieldTurf's discounted price of about 40 percent off was not available from other suppliers.
Is this really what we want in San Carlos parks? (Mercury News, click here)

McFadden has learned turf toe is not to be taken lightly

Turf toe, a relatively common sports injury, is the spraining or tearing of the ligaments and tendons at the base of the big toe. It typically afflicts athletes who play on hard surfaces such as a soccer or football field, usually artificial turf. The injury results from the toe sinking into the turf while the foot is planted, and then extending up too far when the player pushes off or jumps.
Such an injury can lead to instability and even dislocation of the joint, as well as accelerated cartilage wear and arthritis in the affected area. (Mercury News, click here.)

Proposed playing field at San Jose school prompts turf battle among parents

A core group of parents at Trace Elementary, the arts magnet school serving 800 K-5 students, are opposed to plans by the San Jose Unified School District to replace the grass and dirt fields with synthetic turf. Click here.