TWIN CITIES SCHOOLS LOVE ARTIFICIAL TURF FOR ATHLETIC FIELDS, BUT QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT RISKS
As more and more Twin Cities schools install new-generation artificial turf, some critics are worried about its potential health and environmental risks.
By Bao Ong, Pioneer Press Last Updated: 04/25/2008 11:01:58 AM CDT
Krista Lundgren, a Lakeville South High senior, is a fan of the artificial turf replacing grassy athletic fields across the state.
The 17-year-old soccer team captain believes the quick surface — with its plastic grass embedded in a rubber surface — helped the school win the girls state championship this past year. Despite the expense of new-generation synthetic turf, many tout its durability and ability to increase playing time in Minnesota's fickle climate.
But as the popularity of artificial turf grows, critics in Minnesota and across the nation are beginning to voice concerns about potential health and environmental risks.
Environmental activists, including Friends of the Riverfront in Minneapolis, and public health officials in New York and New Jersey have dubbed certain fields "hazardous wastelands." Stateline.org reported that bills in California and Connecticut call for studies to determine the health and environmental effects of the synthetic turf, which is made in part from ground-up tires.
Minnesota lawmakers introduced a bill this legislative session calling for the state to evaluate any health risks artificial turf may pose for athletes inhaling small rubber particles from the turf and any environmental risks incurred when rain runs off the field into groundwater, rivers and lakes.
The proposal, which did not receive a hearing, also would have required the Minnesota Department of Health to inspect all public fields made of the synthetic materials.
Three Minneapolis Democrats — Reps. Phyllis Kahn, Diane Loeffler and Jean Wagenius — sponsored the bill after some residents protested a proposed DeLaSalle High School stadium because of artificial turf use.
"We want to make sure it's safe," Loeffler said. "If there's a problem, we ought to know about it."
The bill may be dead this year, but the issue is not going away.
At least 17 Minnesota high schools — including those in Arden Hills, Cottage Grove, St. Paul and Wayzata — have artificial turf, and more school districts, such as Lakeville, plan to roll out the fake stuff.
The artificial turf typically consists of layers of crushed stone, sandlike material, crumb rubber made from recycled materials and plastic blades of grass.
The Farmington school district, which plans to open a new high school in fall 2009, is considering artificial turf for its $3.6 million Tiger Stadium.
At a meeting this month, a University of Minnesota grounds crew employee talked to Farmington school board members about the hazardous potential of crumb rubber and silica sand components. The artificial turf also gets much hotter on summer days than natural grass does — sometimes by up to 60 degrees.
Jon Summer, the district's athletics director, said the district would consider all its turf options and pointed out that school sports are played in cooler months.
"We're always concerned about student safety," Summer said. "I'm sure the board will take that into consideration."
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has launched an investigation of the chemical makeup of artificial turf. Although the synthetic turf industry defends the safety of its products, the agency is concerned about lead contamination after officials closed an artificial turf field in New Jersey. New York officials also shut down some fields to evaluate health concerns, and the turf is banned in some European countries.
"It would probably require more studies to assess the risk," said John Stine, Minnesota's director of environmental health. "But I can understand the concerns."
Lundgren, who plans to try out for the University of Wisconsin-Madison soccer team this fall, said her Lakeville South teammates are split between which surface they prefer.
The transition between grass and artificial turf can be tricky, said Lundgren's teammate Kelsey Bertamus, because the speed of the ball changes and bounces are unpredictable.
Girls coach Dan Flood likes grass better for soccer and said professional teams compete only on grass during the World Cup.
Lakeville South senior Beau Radford, an 18-year-old wide receiver on the football team, prefers the synthetic surface because the artificial turf is not at the mercy of inclement weather. He thinks maneuvering his 5-foot-9, 170-pound frame on a grass surface is more risky.
Many coaches and district athletics directors seem to agree.
Natural grass fields have limited use because they damage easily from play and wet weather, said Bob Madison, activities director at Mounds View High School in Arden Hills. The school watered, fertilized, mowed and scooped off goose droppings regularly, which added to costs.
Before the school installed artificial turf in 2004 for nearly $1.1 million, Madison said, the stadium could be used only about a dozen times a year. The field would be ripped up if it were used any more than that.
Now, the school and community have access to the field almost every day, except when there is too much snow. Even nearby teams from Bethel and Northwestern colleges ask to use the field.
"It's been worth our money with how much use we get out of it," Madison said. "We have no complaints, really."