U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut held a press conference on Wednesday at the Yale School of Public Health calling for full funding of President Obama’s fiscal year 2017 budget request for $1 million to help determine whether exposure to crumb rubber surfaces made from scrap tires poses a health risk.
Used automobile tires and other rubber products that are shredded into a product called crumb rubber are widely used in synthetic athletic fields, playgrounds and landscaping mulch. President Obama recently called for federal agencies to collaborate in a cross-disciplinary, authoritative and comprehensive study regarding possible health consequences of crumb rubber.
The effort, to be led by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), will assess the toxicity of crumb rubber and help determine if health risks are associated with exposure. The CPSC would be assisted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Environmental Protection Agency.
96 chemicals have been found in synthetic turf, half of which have not been studied for toxins. Of those that have been studied, 20 percent are probable carcinogens, said Blumenthal.
“Parents deserve to know if there is a danger to their children playing on these fields,” said Blumenthal. “Cancer and other health hazards have been linked crumb rubber exposure — increasing the urgency of a comprehensive study. This vital research must be fully funded right away.”
Blumenthal was joined by Nancy Alderman, an advocate from Environment and Human Health, a group of physicians and public health professionals committed to the reduction of environmental health risks to individuals.
Alderman called the unresearched adoption of these fields, “The greatest failure of government. While the water in Flint is bad, it is one town,” she said. “Synthetic turf affects an entire generation of children in this country.”
Cancer and other health hazards have been linked crumb rubber exposure — increasing the urgency of a comprehensive study.
Senator Blumenthal
Children are exposed to these carcinogens from the age of 3 or 4 on playgrounds and continue to be exposed through youth and school sports. By college, we see cancers, especially of the blood. “The largest group to get these are soccer goalies,” said Alderman because they are repeatedly skidding and diving into the turf.
There is also concern about environmental impact due to runoff from the fields into water supplies.
Over 12,000 crumb rubber fields have been installed across the country despite the fact that EPA and Consumer Product Safety Commission have never studied their safety. Supporters of the industry claim that the synthetic fields are cheaper to maintain and can be played on more than grass.
“Towns need to balance health and safety against cost and convenience,” said Blumenthal.
Blumenthal was also joined by Lou Burch of the CT Citizens Campaign for the Environment and Anne Hulick, director, Connecticut Clean Water Action/Clean Water Fund and coordinator for the Coalition for a Safe and Healthy CT.
In his welcoming remarks, Dean Paul Cleary thanked Senator Blumenthal for his leadership in fighting for federal support of health research and the NIH.