The recent proliferation of tire waste athletic fields is being PROMOTED AND MARKETED BY AN INTERNATIONAL TIRE MANUFACTURER CONSORTIUM, (Goodyear, Bridgestone, Michilin, Continental, Dunlop, Kleber, And Pirelli). FieldTurf brand is part of the US$2 billion Tarkett group, distributor of this technology.
· NEW YORK STATE LAWMAKERS have called for a state wide ban of tire waste turf,
· CALIFORNIA state legislators have called for a moratorium.
· NEW JERSEY state legislators have called for a moratorium.
· MINNESOTA state legislators have called for a moratorium.
· ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN HEALTH, INC. has called for a moratorium.
· the SWEDISH Chemical Agency recommended in April that the material not be used in artificial turf because the tire waste releases hazardous materials,
· the ITALIAN Minister of Health found that synthetic turf fields are potentially carcinogenic,
· SOUTH KOREA’S education ministry began investigating the safety of recycled rubber granules over the summer following student complaints of nose and eye irritation,
· a recent DUTCH investigation concluded that "the leaching of zinc is a major concern",
· And NORWAY has banned synthetic turf,
Silver Terrace (San Francisco)
Safety studies are just in their infancy in the United States. Legal and public safety opposition groups have started up in MASSACHUSETTS, CONNECTICUT, FLORIDA, NEW JERSEY, PENNSYLVANIA, UTAH, WASHINGTON, AND NEW YORK.
Used tire waste is RECOGNIZED AS A HEALTH HAZARD BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT and states control where it can be dumped.
LIABILITY CONCERNS HAVE BEEN RAISED about municipalities putting large quantities of a well documented hazardous material into an unregulated environment and in accessible public spaces. Such municipalities would need to be willing to face the potential for a variety of lawsuits, from personal injury to class action.
Due to posted restrictions, wheelchairs and other walking aids are discouraged from using the fields. ADA (AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT) COMPLIANCE COMES INTO QUESTION.
In 2004, the NFL Players Association conducted a survey of more than 1500 players from all 32 teams. The results clearly showed that the majority of
football players not only prefer natural turf as a playing surface but also have a
deep distrust of artificial surfaces. The facts revealed in the survey include:
· 96% of NFL players believe that artificial turf causes more soreness and
fatigue than natural grass.
· 91% feel that artificial turf is more likely to contribute to injury than
natural grass.
· 87% feel that artificial turf is more likely to affect a player’s quality of
life after football.
· 85% feel that artificial turf is more likely to shorten a player’s career.
· More than 1/3 of players feel they’ve had at least one injury caused by
artificial turf that would not have occurred on natural turf.
· 85% of players prefer to play on natural grass.
When players were asked to rank the best and worst playing fields in the
league, results showed that the top four fields all had natural turf while seven of
the worst ten fields contained artificial turf