To the editor:

My children’s health and safety is at the top of my priority list. So before writing a letter about synthetic turf vs. natural grass athletic fields, I checked my facts.  

I would like to share some relevant facts about synthetic turf as I don’t believe that installation of synthetic turf in Barrington will solve our town’s athletic field problems.

• FACT: Synthetic turf is unregulated. It is subject to no health or safety standards nor is it regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission as children’s products.

• FACT: Synthetic turf is not recyclable. A typical field includes 600,000 pounds of material. When the plastic wears out every 5 to 10 years, it will go to a landfill. Over and over and over again.

• FACT: Synthetic turf made of crumb rubber contains lead, mercury, cadmium and other known carcinogens. According to the US EPA, existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb, and EPA’s first study will be released in 2019.

• FACT: Alternatives to crumb rubber, like silica, cork, coconut infill, are unregulated. These natural materials still generate dust that children could inhale. The risks to human health are unknown.

• FACT: Synthetic turf is associated with increased rates of turf burns (skin abrasions). These abrasions are a risk factor for serious bacterial infections.

• FACT: Synthetic turf is flammable and requires routine application of maintenance chemicals. To obtain the look and feel of grass, the plastic grass blades are softened with plasticizers. Additionally, stabilizers may be required to prevent photo-degradation from the sun, and flame retardants are applied to make the surface non-flammable. Sanitizers must be applied to keep fields clean and minimize infections. The grass blades still become brittle with time and exposure and blade fragments become part of the mix within the waste infill dust.  

• FACT: Studies that consider full lifecycle costs, including installation, maintenance, and disposal/replacement show the cost of synthetic turf is 2.5 times more than a natural grass field. 

Now for some opinions. 

Our children deserve better quality athletic fields than they currently have. There is no safer surface for athletic play than organic natural grass. If our town would invest in state-of-the-art organic natural grass fields with the guidance of a turf grass expert and a long-term comprehensive field management plan, the health of our children, athletes, and our planet would be far better protected.  

Jennifer Boylan

Barrington