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Webinars/Resources/ Videos
“Three Massachusetts Communities Maintain Athletic Fields Organically.” 4-minutes video features Springfield, Marblehead and Martha’s Vineyard. See other short videos and resources about organic turf at www.turi.org/organicgrass.
Recommendation to replace artificial turf with natural turf for Saratoga High School, Santa Clara County Medical Association. August 6, 2023
The Science of Artificial Turf, Jeff Gearhart, Research Director, the Ecology Center, Detroit MI, Healthy Stuff Lab.
His presentation is about how to have a healthy engagement with sports that doesn’t increase health risks from injuries or chemical hazards. Gearhart shows his personal biomonitoring lab results. He has many of the PFAS analytes and notes they are additive and cumulative. He explains that there is not a lot of research on artificial turf but there is plenty of evidence of the hazards in artificial turf and the increasing global warming pollutant load of plastic and additives. He cautions that most studies look at a limited set of chemicals. The tests don’t look at multiple components of the entire assembly of materials. He cautions to be wary of anyone who makes claims of safety, especially after doing "testing" without acknowledging the limits of the test. He explains there are concerns at every phase of the PFAS Fluoropolymer life cycle. PFAS is used in artificial turf for a variety of reasons, besides plastic extrusion. I think the most compelling point is that the history of the water advisory / guideline levels has dropped precipitously as the science has evolved to increase the level of concern.
New Fact Sheet Explaining PFAS and Artificial Turf
The PFAS Project Lab and PFAS-REACH are pleased to share their newly developed fact sheet about PFAS and Artificial Turf (AT). There are growing questions, concerns, and uncertainties about PFAS and AT, and this fact sheet summarizes information from academic, regulatory, industry, and advocacy sources in a user-friendly 1-page summary, complete with another page of hyperlinked references. The fact sheet contains new visuals that help to paint a larger picture of PFAS routes through the environment. The PDF fact sheet can be viewed online or can be printed, and the handy QR code takes readers to a website with linked sources. The fact sheet was created alongside our lab’s paper, “Turf Wars: Corporate, Government, and Academic Entanglements in the Manufacture of Doubt over Artificial Turf Fields”.
Artificial Turf Trouble at Our Schools & Playgrounds created by SAPPlings (Student Advocates Protecting the Planet), a project created by high school students for high school students in Montgomery County, Maryland.
The Problem with Artificial Turf Video 6/29/22 Citizens Campaign for the Environment (CCE) and the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) on the environmental, public health, and safety issues associated with the use of artificial turf.
Environmental Health Impacts of Synthetic Turf and Safer Alternatives Video 1/28/22 A webinar from the Collaborative on Health and the Environment presents research on the production, use, and disposal of artificial turf. During this webinar Rachel Massey, ScD, Lindsey Pollard, MS, Zhenyu Tian, PhD, and Sarah Evans, PhD, discussed their work looking at environmental health impacts of artificial turf and safer alternatives.
‘Health and Environmental Hazards of Artificial Turf and Safer Alternatives’ Cancer and Environment Network of Southwest Pennsylvania Speaker Series, January 5, 2023, Rachel Massey and Lindsey Pollard. Passcode: q+AckJw1
Many schools, municipalities, and parents are faced with decisions on creating healthy and safe play spaces for children. Research on the production, use, and disposal of artificial turf and synthetic playground surfacing has raised concerns about environmental contamination, human health hazards, and adverse effects on wildlife. This includes concerns about carcinogens and other toxic chemicals found in materials used to make these play surfacing options. Chemicals of concern found in these materials can include metals, polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), and 6PPD-quinone, among others. There are also concerns about heat-related illnesses, skin infections, and microplastic pollution, among other health and environmental issues. During this webinar, Rachel Massey and Lindsey Pollard will discuss their research on health and environmental implications of artificial turf and safer alternatives.
Video: The Hazards of Artificial Turf: Learn the Latest from Leading Experts. Learn more about artificial turf and why a rapidly growing number of scientists, communities, athletes, and others are saying “no” to its ongoing use. Hazards include exposure to toxic forever chemicals (PFAS) – children are uniquely vulnerable to them; injuries and heat stress; high cost with limited life-span; and contamination of our watershed by PFAS chemicals and microplastics.
Alternative Infills for Artificial Turf Fact Sheet, Delaware River Keeper Network
Artificial Turf Infill: A Comparative Assessment of Chemical Contents, NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1048291120906206 Review article
Artificial Turf: A Health-Based Consumer Guide, Children’s Environmental Health Center Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Review article https://icahn.mssm.edu/files/ISMMS/Assets/Departments/Environmental%20Medicine%20and%20Public%20Health/CEHC/CEHC%20Artificial%20Turf%20Consumer%20Guide%205.2017.pdf.