State Study Finds Artificial Turf Fields Safe

Four State of Connecticut agencies recently completed a two-year study of the health and environmental impacts associated with artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill. The bottom line is good news for New Canaan's athletes, coaches, parents and friends. The study showed that "health risks are not elevated from playing on the fields."  Both New Canaan High School and St. Luke's School have turf fields with crumb rubber infill.

The four state agencies, the University of Connecticut Health Center (UCHC), the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), the Department of Public Health (DPH),  and the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), evaluated the health and environmental aspects associated with artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill. The methods and results were issued by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection.

The infill used between the blades of grass at Dunning Stadium is a far cry from the first well-publicized Astroturf used at the Houston Astrodome in 1966. That surface was a short pile carpet with a foam backing which gave way to the term "turf toe."

In addition to crumb rubber (usually from recycled tires), flexible pellets, sand and rubber-coated sand are used on other artificial surfaces.

Astroturf was the initial surface at Dunning in 1997, but it gave way to the grass-like surface in 2004. Athletic Director Jay Egan was unaware of any opposition to the surface based on environmental concerns. "Players and coaches like it and although we have no documentation, the reviews have been very positive. I'm not at all surprised that the DEP Study confirms what we thought to be true here in New Canaan."

The Rams player refer to the surface as "gurf." No one seems to know why.

St. Luke's changed over to an artificial grass surface from natural grass five years ago. Athletic Director Kevin Butler said, "Some parents had questions concerning the health and safety considerations of the artificial surface, but once our own testing was completed and the reults  showed that no health risks were involved, we had the turf installed." Butler said that two fields at St. Luke's have the artificial grass and that all the teams that use them are happy with the surface. He added that they plan to replenish their surface every five to seven years.

The study was done at five fields, four outdoor and one indoor, during summer conditions in Connecticut. Each of the agencies focused on a particular health aspect:

UCHC—Human exposure field investigation

DPH—Human health risk assessment

CAES—Laboratory Study

DEP—Environmental field investigation

Bill Gerrish of the DEP said, "The five fields, randomly selected for the study, were Glastonbury High, Montville High, Conard High, Sage and the indoor facility at University of Connecticut, Storrs." The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE), reviewed the findings of each agency.

Based on the findings, neither outdoor nor indoor artificial turf fields are associated with elevated health risks from the inhalation of volatile or particle-bound chemicals, The study added that it would "be prudent for building operators to provide adequate ventilation and that new indoor fields should consider alternatives to crumb rubber infill as a cushioning agent.

Even though the UConn indoor facility showed higher levels of chemical emissions than the outdoor sites, they did not suggest a health risk.