Artificial-turf fears put schools on spot

The College of New Jersey had a problem.

Lead dust had been discovered between the blades of the artificial grass on Lions Field, where football and lacrosse teams had played for 10 years - and where graduation ceremonies were just weeks away.

The dust could be hazardous if inhaled or ingested, the state Department of Health and Senior Services said. College officials were shocked. Quickly, they padlocked the arena.

Now, two weeks after the state's health alert went out nationally, athletic and recreation directors at colleges, high schools and parks across the country are grappling with what to do about their own synthetic playing surfaces.

Officials at Muhlenberg College in Allentown are preparing to tear up a decade-old AstroTurf field and are negotiating for a new synthetic surface. They say the plans to replace to field predated the alert.

"We've been assured the new one will have no lead in it," said David Rabold, the capital-projects manager. "And we will get that in writing."

The turf issue arose April 14, when New Jersey health officials announced that the College of New Jersey field and two other AstroTurf fields, in Newark and Hoboken, had been found to be emitting lead particles at eight to 10 times the acceptable amount in soil.

The Newark and Hoboken fields have closed. Ten other randomly tested fields were deemed safe.

In Ewing, N.J., College of New Jersey officials are planning to rip up their shiny green field, whose pigment is infused with lead chromate to protect the color from the sun. Graduates will march on asphalt if officials do not get a lead-free replacement installed in time for next month's commencement.

The Synthetic Turf Council, which represents several turf manufacturers, including AstroTurf, is dismissing the health study, saying the fields "pose no known risk to an individual's health or the environment." The lead is encapsulated inside the fibers and cannot be absorbed by the body, the council says.

There are more than 3,500 artificial-turf fields in the United States, according to industry estimates, and 800 are installed each year.

The federal Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating to see whether a study or recall is warranted. But such probes take time, and some athletic and park directors - in Columbus, Ohio; in Oakland, Calif.; and at various schools in New Jersey - are not waiting. Some are snipping off patches of their turf and shipping them to environmental laboratories for testing. They want to calm nervous parents and avoid liability.

Princeton Day School, a preparatory school, has already gotten its test results back.

"I thought parents would be more comfortable knowing an independent company was testing the turf," said John Levandowski, athletic director. "It came back at 1 milligram, lower than an average soil sample in someone's yard and less than the minimum requirement for baby toys."

Others are imposing restrictions on their turf fields. Children under 7 are barred from the Montgomery Township High School field in New Jersey, where youth leagues play.

Eddy A. Bresnitz, state epidemiologist, has recommended that young children be tested if they have played on artificial-turf fields.

"Dust is created when the blades break down, and it can be inhaled," he said. He said that the health risks are likely minimal but that preventive measures should be taken with children. Excessive levels of lead can cause brain and other disorders, especially in children.

Jersey City officials voluntarily shut 11-year-old Caven Point field, pending testing, because it is similar to the others that are closed. Spokeswoman Jennifer Merrill said two independent tests were being performed as a precaution.

Other field managers had an easier time dealing with the issue. After a flurry of phone calls to their turf manufacturers, they learned their fields were different from the three all-nylon AstroTurf fields that health officials named in their study.

The Health Department reported that the 10 fields in the study made of polyethylene or a polyethylene-nylon mix had acceptable, minimal levels of lead and were considered safe. Many of the newer fields, produced under the brand names of FieldTurf, SprinTurf, NeXturf and others, fall into this category.

Now, the yarn content of the grass has become the yardstick of whether a field is safe - at least pending more testing.

Recreation and school officials in Radnor, Moorestown, Cherry Hill and Voorhees and athletic directors at Rowan University, West Chester University, and other colleges were relieved to find out their fields had the treasured polyethylene woven into the fibers. When concerned parents called, the officials pointed to the company Web sites that distanced the companies from AstroTurf and touted their products' safety.

"The second the story broke, we wanted to know what the issues were, and we talked to our turf vendor, who assured us our fields were clean and lead-free," said Dan Keashen, spokesman for Cherry Hill, which installed three FieldTurf fields three weeks ago.

FieldTurf's Web site says the high lead levels were found only in the all-nylon "old style, carpet-like fibers that are not even remotely similar to FieldTurf's fibers." Its 65-page technical-information manual contains a footnote indicating there is some "lead chromate pigment" in the green, yellow and rust-colored turf it sells.

Darren Gill, FieldTurf spokesman, said the amount was "well below the acceptable level" and not a concern. He said the company received a lot of calls after the health report came out.

"The headlines might have been shocking, but once people educate themselves, they understand," Gill said.

Jon Pritchett, chief executive for General Sports Venue, which makes AstroTurf, said in a statement: "We take very seriously any concerns about the safety of our products." He said the nylon fields were safe.

The older AstroTurf 12 and Pure Grass brands are identified on the Web site as all-nylon products, while other AstroTurf fields contain polyethylene. The nylon turf is usually found on field hockey and lacrosse fields. The company says all new AstroTurf fields are being made without lead.

The discovery of the lead was made after the Health Department was asked to find out whether a hazardous industrial site in Newark was leaching contaminants onto an adjacent children's park. Scientists were surprised to find lead coming from the turf, not the site.

"Based on a fortuitous finding in Newark, we were prompted to ask, 'How big a problem can this be?' " said Bresnitz, the state epidemiologist. He said the state felt obligated to release its findings to inform the public about potential risks. Now, he says, it is up to the Consumer Product Safety Commission and the fields' managers to decide what to do.

When College of New Jersey officials shut their field, they asked Ursinus College in Montgomery County to host their women's lacrosse meet April 19. When Ursinus officials asked why, they were stunned, especially since their field is also an all-nylon AstroTurf field.

"This just hit us out of the blue," said Brian Thomas, athletic director.

Laura Moliken, Ursinus field hockey coach, is not sure what to think.

"It seems that people are panicking a bit," she said. "I don't know what the dangers are, or where the lead is coming from, but is it more so than the chemicals put on grass fields?"

Ursinus spokesman Jim Wagner said the college was trying to figure out what to do.

"We're still making a game plan," he said.

Precautions recommended by the N.J. Department of Health and Senior Services to reduce lead risks on artificial-turf fields:

Water down fields before and after they are used to suppress dust.

Remind student-athletes and others to wash their hands and bodies thoroughly after playing on the field.

Remove clothes that are worn on the field and launder separately, inside out.

Ask the field vendors to conduct testing to determine the levels of potential contaminants, including the fibers and in-fill materials.

If a field is found to have high lead levels, field managers can consider limiting access to the field, especially for children under 7.

For more information, go to

» READ MORE: http://www.state.nj.us/health/