Debate weighs safety of artificial crumb rubber fields used for kid's sports in Seattle
SEATTLE — Artificial turf fields are just about everywhere in the U.S. They’re used in countless parks, sports fields and stadiums from coast to coast. If you’ve ever walked on one, you’ve probably seen the tiny bits of rubber scattered across the synthetic grass. That ground-up material is known as “crumb rubber” and it’s at the center of a raging debate: is it safe for our kids to be playing on?
Amy Griffin knows a thing or two about soccer. She was a goalkeeper on the 1991 Women’s World Cup Championship team, was a longtime associate head coach at the University of Washington and is a National Youth Soccer Hall of Famer. That’s only part of her impressive resume for years spent on a field of play.
But she is also known for what she has said off the field and for a list that she’d rather not keep.
As she looks at a field in Seattle, Washington's Magnuson Park, she shakes her head. “I hate it, I hate it,” says Griffin.
From 20 feet away, you can see hundreds of black dots. It is crumb rubber that was put down years ago as the infill for a synthetic turf surface but has now bubbled to the surface and overshadows the blades of green plastic parts serving as the grass.
It also immediately triggers a debate she has led for more than a decade and is rooted in her personal experience.
Two players that I have coached growing up as youth players that grew up playing sort of on the same fields in our community, both came down with lymphoma almost the very same time,” she says about a journey which has led her around the country in pursuit of answers.
Griffin started keeping a list of young players who were diagnosed with some form of cancer at a young age. As she asked around, many were goalkeepers, and had played extensively during their formative years on the artificial surface.
“When my son got diagnosed at age 13, I remembered her story. He’s a goalkeeper,” said Jean Bryant, of Seattle, whose son Jack is battling Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “Your son's playing on carcinogens, you're concerned that that may be the cause.”
The two women would bond on the issue and start tracking cases across America. The club now has 272 members, with people, who mostly at a young age were diagnosed with some former of cancer. All of them trace it back to their time on fields made of recycled tire infill, including University of Miami star goalkeeper Austen Everett, who passed away in 2012 from complications of Non-Hodgkin’s.
Christina Long also considers herself a member. She was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s at 26 years old, and then a teammate “was diagnosed two weeks after I was."
The artificial turf fields with crumb rubber exploded in popularity in the 90s, as a low-maintenance, cheaper alternative to grass. The Synthetic Turf Council says there are 16,000 artificial fields across the country, with 85 percent of them having a crumb rubber infill.
But the STC, and Recycled Rubber Coalition are quick to point out that there has never been a proven connection between the fields and the health impacts to players. In fact, they quickly cite the 2017 Washington State Department of Health report, prompted by Griffin’s complaints, “available research does not indicate a significant health risk”. The Washington DOH says it has no current plans to investigate again.
But that has not stopped municipalities across America from replacing or banning the surface. Hopkinton, Massachusetts tore out a crumb rubber surface for one with a green-coated sand mixture infill. Boston’s Mayor has issued a directive for a preference for new grass fields. A school district in Washington state installed a field with sand and cork.
The US Environmental Protection Agency was also researching the health and safety of crumb rubber and determined in 2019 that “human exposure appears to be limited” but promised then that it would release a second part of the study soon. The EPA is now three years behind its original timeframe.
An EPA spokesperson told Spotlight on America in an official statement that the work is continuing, after they completed Part 1 of their study. “Part 2 will include data to characterize potential human exposures for those who use synthetic turf fields containing tire crumb to chemicals found in the tire crumb rubber material. Part 2 will be released along with results from a biomonitoring study being conducted by CDC/ATSDR to investigate potential exposure to chemical constituents in tire crumb rubber.” The statement said, “The biomonitoring study’s field activities, including data collection, were scheduled to begin in Spring of 2020 but were postponed due to the outbreak of COVID-19.”
You can read Part 1 of their study below.
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard is also doing its own investigation, which similarly was held up by the pandemic, and the “potential negative human health effects associated with the use of recycled waste tires in playground and synthetic turf products.” A spokesperson for OEHHA said “We hope to have that out soon."
The European Union already has tightened the restrictions on the compounds used in crumb rubber and is debating whether to ban the construction of new crumb rubber fields altogether.
In August of 2022, the EU imposed new, lower limits for crumb rubber infills on fields and playgrounds.
Hanna-Kaisa Torkkeli is a spokesperson for the European Chemicals Agency, or ECHA, which could be considered the EPA’s sister agency across the pond. She told Spotlight on America that Griffin’s story compelled EU regulators to investigate and pursue changes. The first involves limiting the “presence of eight polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the granules and mulches used on pitches and playgrounds. These PAHs can be present in the tires that are shredded and used as infill material. They are known carcinogens. Animal model studies link the group of chemicals to skin, lung, bladder, liver and stomach cancers. PAHs have also been linked with heart disease and poor fetal development.”
She wrote “It prohibits the placing on the market and use of granules and mulches as infill if they contain more than 20 mg/kg of the sum of the eight PAHs. In practice, this means that the rubber material put on fields must be tested for PAHs or made of a material known to not have high levels of PAHs. The restriction will make playing on artificial sports pitches and playgrounds in the EU/EEA safer and may help to ease social concerns and worries over playing on artificial sports pitches and playgrounds.”
Torkkelli says another measure, which is part of a broad effort to reduce microplastics, could also limit future crumb rubber infill. “It concerns microplastics that are intentionally added to products and that are less than 5mm in size. The scope includes cosmetics, detergents, fertilizers, paints ... and the primary concern is environmental pollution. The soft infill used on artificial sports pitches is in scope.”
“The Commission’s draft regulation proposes a ban on this microplastic infill six years after entry into force. However, as explained above, the legislative process with the EU member states is ongoing and no restriction has yet been adopted. If a ban were adopted, any new infill on sports pitches would have to be of alternative material, e.g. cork, wood.”
But she says that discussion is not final and will be discussed by the EU Parliament and Council before adoption.
The Netherlands has already declared a formal “intention” to create more sustainable fields by 2030, and the elimination of crumb rubber-based infill, according to a spokesperson for the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports.
Again, neither the Dutch Ministry nor the ECHA has made a direct link between human health and crumb rubber.
That’s something the Recycled Rubber Coalition highlights as well. In a statement to SOA, Spokesperson Stratton Kirton wrote “Crumb rubber infill is safe. It is a highly-scrutinized and regulated product, with more than 100 technical and scientific studies finding no significant risk to human health—issued by organizations as diverse as the Washington State Department of Health, the European Chemical Agency, and the chair of the Children's Cancer Group.”
Kirton also released an RRC position paper, which he says seeks to provide clarity about future uses of the material, and the recycling of tires across the US and the world. You can read an excerpt below:
Policy Recommendations
Sustainable practices are only going to become more of a priority for government and consumers alike. Bolstering the rubber recycling industry is a logical next step for policymakers, especially considering that the U.S. used to lead the way on circularity for rubber products. In order to make America the leader in circularity once again, the public and private sectors must work together to implement policies that increase the number of tires recycled.
Below are a series of policies that, if adopted, could have swift, positive impacts on the tire recycling industry in America.
Federal
Increase Research Funding: The U.S. EPA and Department of Energy should prioritize grants for expanding uses of recycled rubber—similar to existing programs for plastics recycling. Prioritizing research that supports market expansion is a necessary step to help the industry achieve higher levels of recycling and secondary use, ensuring the industry can increase recycling rates.
Enforce U.S. Standards: While all U.S. tires adhere to high safety standards, tires from other nations with lower environmental standards often contain harmful chemicals. To keep recycled rubber safe, the U.S. should ensure that any imported rubber meets U.S. chemical and material standards to ensure that rubber can be recycled safely.
Establish Preference In Federal Purchasing: The EPA maintains a list of recycled products that gain preferencing in federal procurement. While some recycled rubber goods have been included on the list, more should be added. There are many more areas where the federal government can use recycled scrap tires products to cut waste and emissions.
State And Local
Implement New Tire Fees: Only 35 states have imposed fees on new tires. These fees are critical to funding new recycled rubber research and products, and reducing illegal tire dumping. All 50 state governments should enact a fee of at least $1.50 on all new tires purchased and use the funds generated on recycling and cleanup grant programs.
Create Tax Incentives For Equipment And Facilities: Rubber recycling facilities create good-paying jobs and are centers of manufacturing and innovation in many communities. State and local governments should provide tax incentives for facility construction and the purchase of new equipment, such as tire shredders.
Back in her home state of Washington, Christina Long wonders just how much longer the process will drag out, both personally and from a regulatory sense. She had a stem cell transplant, and is now in remission, and goes to yearly doctor’s appointments to make sure there is no recurrence. Long also watches games a little differently.
Every time I see the ball bounce and I see the rubber pop up, I just wonder, why can't we find another solution,” she said.
Griffin says she can’t make any definitive conclusion about a connection but believes the EPA should make it more of a priority to finish the work because her list continues to grow.
“If it was done the right way, then there was a true epidemiological study. Those take years,” said Griffin, adding, “There's just too many, pardon the pun, but there's too many dots that are connected.”
