Artificial Turf – Field of Dreams or Fields of Cancer for Children?

San Diego, CA December 19, 2014

Recent studies and news articles on the ubiquitous grass replacement known as AstroTurf and other artificial grass products are leading many to believe it’s a possible source of cancer.

AstroTurf was first created by Monsanto Corporation in 1964 and first used in 1966 in the Astrodome in Houston Texas, prompting the name “AstroTurf”. The first version of artificial grass was little more than a synthetic plastic “grass” blades laid over concrete. Some baseball players complained that the surface was too hard and caused injuries.

In response to these complaints Monsanto came up with a solution, it used the abundance of old rubber car tires pulverized into tiny grain sized balls. These were laid onto the surface and gave the surface some bounce and cushion. They called this “crumb” and it is currently being used in most artificial grass fields across the U.S. in thousands of playing fields used by children and young adults.

It was in 2009 when a Seattle Washington soccer coach Amy Griffin was visiting two female soccer goalies in the hospital that has been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. After speaking with the on-duty nurse she mentioned something that alerted Griffin; “Don’t tell me you guys are goalkeepers. You’re the fourth goalkeeper I’ve hooked up this week.”

Griffin made the connection – could these girls who played on these surfaces being exposed to cancer causing compounds?

It would seem to make sense that old car tires that contain benzene, lead and other known cancer causing chemicals could be the culprit.

It’s estimated that there are over 11,000 thousand artificial grass fields in the US, many used in schools and community playgrounds.

Study Sources:

• Published in 2013 in the scientific journal Chemospheres, “Uses of recycled rubber tires, especially those targeting play areas and other facilities for children, should be a matter of regulatory concern.”

• A 2013 study Researchers identified lead in the turf tested, including a “large concentration” of lead and chromium in one sample. “As the turf material degrades from weathering the lead could be released, potentially exposing young children,” .

Department of Energy & Environment Protection

http://www.ct.gov/deep/cwp/view.asp?a=2690&Q=463624&deepNav_GID=1511

We firmly believe that more studies should be done to protect our most valued resource- children.

Because of these current and past studies on the toxic nature of artificial playing fields we are investigating possible lawsuit claims to help those who have suffered from cancer that may be tied to exposure while playing on these type of artificial grass surfaces.

If you or your child or someone you love has spent time on artificial grass fields and has been diagnosed with any form of cancer we want to hear from you. There may be a class action lawsuit forming. Use the form on the right side of this page to contact us; there is no charge what so ever.

Lead Story Source:

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/how-safe-artificial-turf-your-child-plays-n220166