Important Message

>Subject: Stamford Advocate - Doctor Urges Caution on Fake Turf
>Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:33:27 -0400
>
>http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.turf7oct16,0,2479
>037.s
>tory?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
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>The Advocate (Stamford)
>
>Doctor urges caution on fake turf
>
>By Lisa Chamoff
>
>Staff Writer
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>
>
>October 16, 2007
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>
>
>WESTPORT - A expert on the environment and children's health told a 
>small crowd at the Westport Public Library last night that parents 
>should be wary of synthetic turf athletic fields, and he agreed that 
>cities and towns should not rush to install the fields, which are made 
>in part from recycled tires, until the health risks are determined.
>
>
>
>Dr. Philip Landrigan, who heads the department of community and 
>preventative medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York 
>City, spoke about exposure to chemicals such as pesticides, lead and 
>mercury, and how they affect children's' health.
>
>
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>Aside from the arguments that synthetic turf athletic fields are less 
>costly to maintain than grass, Landrigan said the fields get very hot 
>and can cause rough abrasions that are more likely to become infected.
>
>
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>After recently reviewing a report from New Haven-based Environment and 
>Human
>Health Inc., Landrigan said he agrees that the shredded tires and the 
>affect
>on children's health should be studied further.
>
>
>
>The report centered on a recent study by the Connecticut Agricultural
>Experiment Station in New Haven.
>
>
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>The study found that under laboratory conditions the tire fragments 
>released
>at least four dangerous compounds, including one recognized carcinogen,
>under slightly elevated temperatures. The compounds can irritate eyes, skin
>and mucous membranes. The rubber also was found to leach heavy metals into
>water.
>
>
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>The organization has asked for a moratorium on the further installation of
>the synthetic turf fields until more research is done.
>
>
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>"What we don't know at this point is to what extent do these toxic 
>chemicals
>. . . get into kids' bodies," Landrigan said.
>
>
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>He noted a study being conducted by Rutgers University utilizing a robot
>that will move around the fields and take air samples about a foot above 
>the
>surface to measure the amount of chemical exposure. He said it also would 
>be
>a good idea to work with groups of parents and obtain urine samples of
>children who use the fields, to see if chemicals are passing through their
>bodies.
>
>
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>Landrigan also focused on the increasing incidence of asthma, childhood
>cancers and developmental disorders, such as autism. He said there are
>chemicals that haven't been tested for their possible toxicity, and 
>children
>are more susceptible to exposure because they drink more water and often
>transfer substances to their mouths. Children also are still developing and
>they take longer to rid their bodies of chemicals, he said.
>
>
>
>"We are conducting in our society a vast toxicological experiment,"
>Landrigan said.
>
>
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>There is evidence for environmental causes of developmental disorders,
>including lead, methyl mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs,
>Landrigan said. He advised people to eat organic foods as much as possible,
>be informed about neighbors' pesticide use and encourage the use of "green"
>materials in schools.
>
>
>
>A multiyear study to examine the influence of environmental factors in
>children's' health and development is under way, Landrigan said. The
>National Children's Study, led by the U.S. Department of Health and Human
>Services and the Environmental Protection Agency, will follow 100,000
>children from before birth to at least 18 years of age.
>
>
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>"We believe it's our generation's best hope of detecting preventable
>diseases," Landrigan said.
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>
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>Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human Health, said last night
>that she was pleased Landrigan addressed the synthetic turf issue.
>
>
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>One mother who attended the talk said she hadn't known about the concerns
>about synthetic turf, and that they surprised her. A field was recently
>installed behind Saugatuck Elementary School.
>
>
>
>"I had no idea that the turf was so dangerous and a concern," said Joan
>McCullough, who has a 4-year-old daughter. "It's made me more aware of what
>my daughter can be exposed to."
>
>
>
>Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.
>
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