Keep Artificial Turf out of Youth Soccer!
I’m editing my post because the comments suggest a prevailing sentiment: the singular focus on the need for increased play time; while the health and safety risks, environmental damage, contribution to climate change, pollution and harm to wildlife be damned.
See link below for a detailed analysis of the pro's and con's of natural grass and artificial turf from a sports field management perspective. Also do your own research and come to your own conclusions.
https://www.sportsfieldmanagement.org/natural-grass-athletic-fields/
Artificial turf poses serious risks to human health, local wildlife and the environment. It's taking over soccer and other sports fields in schools and public parks at an alarming rate. It's a billion dollar industry and turf companies put profit over consumer safety. Please take a moment to learn more about the issue and check out the petition. Sign if you agree and want fake turf out of youth soccer and other sports.
https://www.change.org/supportnaturalgrassforyouthsports
Why Is Synthetic Turf Hazardous?
- High Heat Synthetic turf has been documented to reach temperatures over 200°F on a 98°F day. Synthetic turf fields are always significantly hotter than natural grass, concrete and asphalt. These higher temperatures put users of turf at risk for skin burns and heat-related illness.
- Toxic Chemicals Synthetic turf fields have been shown to contain the following chemicals which pose a risk to human health and wildlife:
- Benzene: known human carcinogen
- Arsenic: known human carcinogen
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs): anticipated to be a human carcinogen
- Cadmium: known human carcinogen
- Chromium: known human carcinogen; respiratory irritant
- VOCs and SVOCs (e.g. benzathiazole, hexane, toluene, formaldehyde): respiratory irritants or asthma triggers
- Phthalates: reproductive toxicant
- Crystalline Silica: known human carcinogen; respiratory irritant
- Particulate matter: respiratory irritant or asthma trigger
Additionally, due synthetic turf fields being made of petrochemical products, they are highly flammable. As a result, many fields toxic contain flame- retardants. Many also contain antimicrobials following the higher incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections from playing on synthetic turf fields.
Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals because of their rapidly developing organ systems and immature detoxification systems. They also breathe more air per unit of body weight than adults, and are likely to have greater hand-to-mouth exposure to environmental contaminants compared to adults.
- Microplastics The infill for synthetic turf playing fields has historically consisted of primarily crumbed used tires. Due to friction during use, UV radiation from the sun, and general environmental exposure, the plastic blades in synthetic turf breakdown into tiny pieces of plastic called microplastic. Each synthetic turf field looses 0.5 to 8.0% of its blades annually, yielding 200 to 3200 pounds of plastic waste to our environment per year. These microplastics migrate off the field into air, soil, waterways and oceans.
https://www.beyondplastics.org/fact-sheets/synthetic-turf
Read the Santa Clara County Medical Association's 2024 report on artificial turf: