Artificial Turf Crumb Rubber Cancer

Artificial turf or synthetic turf is made of plastic blades of grass backing material to hold the blades and infill usually crumb rubber that helps support the blades.

Artificial turf crumb rubber cancer.

Most use infills of crumb rubber from recycled tires which use is controversial because of concerns that the tires contain carcinogens. Research shows that crumb rubber pellets made of recycled tires can contain toxic chemicals metals and carcinogens but not necessarily at levels. Artificial turf is surface of synthetic fibers resembling natural grass. In 2006 a norwegian study evaluated the dangers of using styrene butadiene rubber rubber crumb in the composition of artificial turf.

The tire crumbs are poured in between the artificial grass blades giving the artificial fields more cushion and support. Recently the crumbs have been implicated in causing cancer in adolescents and young. Crumb rubber infill is estimated to be about 90 of the weight of fields thus forming the vast majority of the playing surface. A new artificial turf system was developed in the early 2000s based on crumb rubber the black crumbs are small pieces of styrene butadiene rubber made from grinding up old vehicle tires.

Part 2 to be released later will include data to characterize potential human exposures to the chemicals found in the tire crumb rubber material while using synthetic turf fields. Unlike its predecessor crumb rubber turf was a synthetic carpet of longer grassy looking fibers filled in with ground up scrap tires. Developed in the late 1990s crumb rubber turf was considered a vast improvement over the 1960s surface known as astroturf which amounted to a carpet of short fake grass laid over a pad and asphalt base. It is widely used for sports fields for being more hard wearing and resistant than natural surfaces.

He is not the first to suggest this link. After a list of soccer players with cancer prompted an investigation the state found nothing unusual but one coach still thinks the cancer might be linked to artificial turf. Most synthetic turf fields have crumb rubber interspersed among the simulated grass fibers to reduce athletic injuries by allowing users to turn and slide more readily as they play sports or exercise on the fields.