A new independent lab study conducted by a world renowned laboratory in Paris, France concludes that crumb rubber is safe for children of all ages. Lower Canada College, a K-12 private school located in Montreal Canada, initiated an independent lab study of crumb rubber after growing concerns regarding the safety of their school’s new synthetic grass sport field. The independent laboratory test was to measure and analysis the potential toxicity levels of crumb rubber against rigid toy safety standards that are part of Europe’s Toy Safety Directive. In 2013, the European Union developed a children’s toy safety standard called the EN 71-3. This standard, which is widely recognized as the most advanced standard in the world, sets strict safety limits for different elements found in children’s toys.
The crumb rubber was tested against these strict standards and passed on every level.
What do the professional have to say about crumb rubber?
- Dr. Robert Hayashi, the Director of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at St. Louis Children’s Hospital stated to KSDK –TV in St. Louis “there’s no scientific evidence to believe it’s true. Despite all the things we do all of us are at risk for developing cancer every day and I think we still have to be able to live our lives and let our children thrive in a healthy environment.” He went on to say, “if you consider the other dangers of playing sports, like traumatic brain or bone and joint injuries, those risks far outweigh the risk of participating on a crumb rubber field.”
- Dr. Northfelt, an Oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Mesa, AZ told Fox 10 News “Parents should be more concerned about pesticides on natural grass. Lowering exposure to pesticides is one reason schools say they installed [synthetic] turf fields.”
- Dr. Wendy LeBolt physiologist, soccer coach, mother, and founder of Fit2Finish.com, stated in a recent blog, “Turf allows kids to play more games and coaches to hold more practices. This mean our kids are more active, and that is a very good thing. Because the risk of not playing means more sitting at home watching TV or screen-surfing. With those come overweight, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, other joint ailments, just to name a few. In short, I say the benefit to spending more time in the game far surpasses the risk.” (of playing on a synthetic turf field with crumb rubber infill)
Synthetic grass sport fields make it possible for millions of children and people of all ages the opportunity to be active year-round in all types of weather. Synthetic turf is a sustainable product that can be used to help the environment in multiple ways. One way is that a synthetic sport fields conserve billions of gallons of water each year and avoids the use of harmful pesticides and fertilizers. Pesticides and fertilizers pollute our water supply. In addition, artificial grass helps in the recycling effort and 25 million used car and truck tires are recycled that would otherwise by dumped in a landfill.
You can read the press release from the Synthetic Turf Council regarding this information.
