Field of Dreads

[XLFD]

The denudation of Oriole Field begins and the pit that will likely contain hundreds of hazardous substances in the recycled crumb rubber infill is soon to be placed in preparation for the fake green turf that the Ludington Area School District (LASD) is wasting $1.4 million on.

Hallack Contracting appears to be the subcontractor of Astroturf Inc. hired to excavate the 1.4 acre minced tire dumping grounds.  They were busy just before noon taking out the real grass currently on site, starting at the southeast corner.  

One can see the old irrigation system and grass being scraped nearly 2 ft. down.  The majority of that distance will likely be covered with crumb rubber infill, these are the small black pellets our children will be scraping themselves with, ingesting, and otherwise contacting whenever they get tackled, or try to make a save on goal, or even stretching before a football or soccer game.  

The school has a duty per their bylaws to make an accounting of any hazardous substance that exists on school property, they have not even tried to get data sheets for the toxic infill surely to be used or the fake grass itself, which often is prepared with PFAs and sheds plastic nanoparticles.  The city manager has failed to formally approve this excavation in a city park, which Oriole Field is by definition.  The Ludington Planning Commission has failed to do a site plan review to consider the health, safety, and environmental hazards that may be present to the neighborhood and to those using the facility, even though the use is totally against their goals expressed in the master plan.  

In short, our city leaders in the school and at city hall has injected us all, especially our kids, into a most dangerous game and having us pay dearly for it with our money, our health, and our ecology.

[Willy]

It's one thing to make this decision. It's another thing to ignore anything that has the potential for being a hazard to kids. Where are their brains? They didn't even slow down to consider how this will be affecting the children and community. These people! Like the spoiled child who wants what they want, right now.

[Freedom Seeker]

Thanks X for letting the community know about the PFAS etc. Well said, Willy. Very unfortunate impact to our environment and children.

Below is an excerpt from a study filed with National Institute of Health:

Health impacts of artificial turf: Toxicity studies, challenges, and future directions
Maire Murphy et al. Environ Pollut. 2022.

Abstract
Many communities around the country are undergoing contentious battles over the installation of artificial turf. Opponents are concerned about exposure to hazardous chemicals leaching from the crumb rubber cushioning fill made of recycled tires, the plastic carpet, and other synthetic components. Numerous studies have shown that chemicals identified in artificial turf, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phthalates, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), are known carcinogens, neurotoxicants, mutagens, and endocrine disruptors. However, few studies have looked directly at health outcomes of exposure to these chemicals in the context of artificial turf. Ecotoxicology studies in invertebrates exposed to crumb rubber have identified risks to organisms whose habitats have been contaminated by artificial turf. Chicken eggs injected with crumb rubber leachate also showed impaired development and endocrine disruption. The only human epidemiology studies conducted related to artificial turf have been highly limited in design, focusing on cancer incidence. In addition, government agencies have begun their own risk assessment studies to aid community decisions. Additional studies in in vitro and in vivo translational models, ecotoxicological systems, and human epidemiology are strongly needed to consider exposure from both field use and runoff, components other than crumb rubber, sensitive windows of development, and additional physiological endpoints. Identification of potential health effects from exposures due to spending time at artificial turf fields and adjacent environments that may be contaminated by runoff will aid in risk assessment and community decision making on the use of artificial turf.

Keywords: Artificial turf; Crumb rubber; Endocrine disruption; Environmental exposure; Perfluoroalkyl substances; Phthalates; Polyaromatic hydrocarbons; Risk assessment.

Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

[XLFD]

From last month: The Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Icahn School of M...:  

Children are uniquely vulnerable to harmful exposures from artificial turf surfaces because of their unique physiology and behaviors, rapidly developing organ systems, and immature detoxification mechanisms.²¹ Children may be exposed to artificial turf chemicals through ingestion, inhalation, skin absorption, and open wounds or broken skin. Children and young athletes breathe faster than adults, putting them at greater risk for inhalation of chemicals that off-gas from turf fields. Small children put their hands and other objects in their mouths, increasing the risk of exposure via ingestion. In addition, youth have a higher surface area to body mass ratio, produce more body heat per unit mass, and sweat less than adults, all factors that increase susceptibility to heat injuries that have been observed on artificial turf fields.¹⁴ Vulnerability to turf chemicals persists through the teen years as the reproductive and nervous systems continue to develop beyond the first two decades of life. Lastly, children have more future years of life over which chronic diseases linked to the chemicals in turf develop.  

Chemical hazards escape from artificial turf surfaces to the environment. A number of the chemical components of artificial turf surfaces are soluble in water.  When rain and snow fall on synthetic fields, these materials can leach from the surface to contaminate ground water and soil.²² Recent studies find PFAS in wetlands adjacent to artificial turf suggesting that these chemicals may migrate from field components to contaminate the environment.⁷ Runoff from turf fields also has the potential to release microplastics into the environment. Microplastic contamination is found in drinking water and wildlife throughout the globe and in human blood, lungs, and placenta.