Grass Stain: Safety Of Artificial Turf Comes Into Question

Concern Increasing About Amount Of Lead In Older Artificial Turf Surfaces

There are "increasing concerns that some synthetic fields -- particularly fraying AstroTurf surfaces that have been in place for years -- are contaminated with lead and could pose a health hazard to children, athletes and others who use them," according to an extensive USA TODAY sports-section Cover Story by McCarthy & Berkowitz, who write under the header, "Artificial Turf: Health Hazard?" Six artificial turf fields in New York and New Jersey "as much as a decade old or more have been closed because of concern about high levels of lead in the turf fibers." But artificial turf industry officials said that the "controversy is based mostly on scientifically flawed attacks and sensationalized claims of the risks associated with turf." Montreal-based FieldTurf Tarkett, which supplies 1,900 U.S. fields including 10 NFL stadiums, has won the contract to replace a closed field at Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, New Jersey. FieldTurf's polyethylene surfaces checked by New Jersey health officials "contained trace amounts of lead and were deemed not harmful." But FieldTurf execs are "frustrated that their polyethylene products keep getting lumped in with nylon fields built by a company that's no longer in business." FieldTurf CEO Joe Fields in a statement said, "Our fields were tested and found to be about 50 times below what the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission allows in Mr. Potato Head or in Lego." But New York state Sen. Jim Alesi said that he "wants more proof before accepting the opinion of manufacturers or industry-paid scientists." Alesi: "We need to have someone that's not selling us the product tell us that it's safe" (USA TODAY, 5/8).