I just finished a class up at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens about Landscape Design. One of the interesting ideas we had was to use astroturf in a heavily shaded garden as a substitute for normal grass.  A fellow student brought up that there had been some debate in Brooklyn  Heights about using fake turf on a playground  as it was possibly toxic. I was curious, so I wanted to do some research. Astroturf is a synthetic turf field made with rubber granules from recycled tires. The photo above does a good job of showing you what the turf and its pebble rubble look like.  Parental concern about these fields and their rubber led to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Report in New Haven. Among the reports’ findings was: when the rubber granules were heated in a laboratory to the level of the full day sun, they emitted four organic chemicals that could irritate the eyes, skin and respiratory system. One of the chemicals is believed to be a carcinogen.  The reasearchers also found other chemicals that have to undergo further testing to be identified. Additionally, the turf reportedly leaches heavy metals into the groundwater. The town of Westport, Connecticut has four synthetic playing surfaces at schools. The town library asked Dr. Philip Landrigan, who heads the department of community and preventative medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai to talk about children and environmental health, and specifically about fake turf. He had recently reviewed the aforementioned report from New Haven-based Environment and Human Health Inc. and said that these turf fields should no longer be made until more research on shredded tires and their affect on children’s health is done. He also discussed the fact that astroturf creates other health risks: it gets exceedingly hot and can cause cause skin abrasions that put children at risk for staph infections.  On very hot summer days, the area a few feet above the turf can reach a temperature of 130 or 140 degrees. Overall, a pretty condemning statement on fake turf. If that doesn’t convince you, here is some more information on how it is terrible for the environment.

I found this information from EarthTalk, a column written by the editors at
"E/The Environmental Magazine," which you can find on MSNBC.com. www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

 ……synthetic turf is made out of
petroleum-derived plastic. In cases where fake turf is installed
improperly, chemicals from the plastic can seep into the ground below
and potentially contaminate groundwater. Some formulations of synthetic
turf require infill such as silicon sand or granulated rubber, either
of which may contain potentially toxic heavy metals that can leach into
the water table below. The granules have also been known to produce a
distinctly unpleasant odor at times. And consumers trying to reduce
their carbon footprints should keep in mind that manufacturing and
shipping artificial turf, like any synthetic product, generates large
amounts of greenhouse gas emissions.

I guess our class will go back to the drawing board and maybe consider….hmmmm…wood chips?

TOP: Photo By JEFF HOLTZ, Published: October 28, 2007, New York Times

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