Artificial turf fields comprised with crumb rubber have recently raised health concerns for players, including the risk of injury, skin infection, lead exposure and cancer. Two federal agencies — The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) — continue to promote athletic turf as safe, according to a USA Today analysis.
A CPSC news release states “young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields,” even though USA Today says the commission “found potentially hazardous lead levels in some turf fibers and did not test any rubber crumbs, which are made from recycled tires that contain roughly 30 hazardous substances, including lead.”
The EPA didn’t investigate the effects of crumb rubber until 2008 and now says in a statement that “more testing needs to be done” to determine the materials’ safety.
To read the full USA Today analysis, click here.