Lead in artificial turf fields not a threat to children, report says

A report released today by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission says the normally small amounts of lead found in artificial turf fields are not a safety threat for children.

The commission began studying the issue at the request of the New Jersey Department of Health in April after lead was found in decaying AstroTurf fields in Newark and Hoboken at levels that exceeded acceptable amounts.

Lead exposure can cause brain and neurological problems in young children.

The commission conducted tests and found the amount of lead children could consume by hand-to-mouth contact after playing on such a field was not enough to threaten their health, even on the old fields.

Today, municipal and school officials in South Jersey where artificial turf fields had been installed in recent months expressed relief at the findings.

"Our professionals who put the turf in researched it intensely. They felt the fields in North Jersey were an anomaly and that turf fields had been used safely for years," said Lawrence Spellman, Voorhees Township administrator. "I'm glad the new report supports what our professionals told us."

The Camden County community had purchased an $800,000 field at the Giangiullio Memorial Park for football, lacrosse and soccer use at the height of the controversy.

A few schools in the Princeton area had gone so far as to restrict the use of the fields to children over 7, pending private testing. Others opted to close their aging fields.

In Cherry Hill, where a new turf field was laid shortly before the warnings were issued, officials were also pleased with the new report.

"The township is very happy that field turf got a clean bill of health from the commission and that everyone's fears are put to rest on this issue," said Dan Keashen, a spokesman for the mayor.

While the commission found no harmful lead levels in a sampling of fields that were tested, it is asking the artificial turf industry to set voluntary standards to preclude the use of lead in future products. Currently, small amounts are used to enhance the pigment.

In a prepared statement, the Synthetic Turf Council, which represents numerous artificial turf manufacturers, said it would eliminate lead in all products, where feasible.

"With this commitment, we are voluntarily agreeing to reduce lead levels in accordance with the proposed Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, and to the same strict standards Congress is likely to impose on the children's toy industry," said Rick Doyle, council president.

The fields in Newark and Hoboken were manufactured more than a decade ago and had greater lead content in their all-nylon fabric than the newer generation, mixed-fiber fields, which have only trace amounts.

Scientists with the Health Department had reported that those decaying fields were emitting lead dust and contained lead in the fibers that could put young children at risk.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission decided to focus only on what would happen if children ingested the lead, and not if they breathed in the dust.

"This wasn't an in-depth, long-term study, but an evaluation of the product," said Julie Vallese, spokesperson with the CPSC. "We looked at this and determined the most likely rate of exposure would be hand to mouth, from falling down, or touching the field."

Vallese said the Health Department used vacuum sampling of the turf, which increased the likelihood that lead from other sources could have blown onto the field and contaminated the results. CPSC used special wipes on the fibers to see what a child might actually come in contact with if the fiber was leaching lead.

The Newark field, now closed, had been located next to a hazardous industrial site. Vallese said even that field was not determined to be a danger to children, based on the CPSC report.

Dawn Thomas, spokesperson for the Health Department, said scientists there are still reviewing the report.

"They are comparing the findings and methodology of the report as opposed to the approach the department used," she said.