For years, plastic turf was seen as an environmentally pleasant and water-saving various to pure grass throughout California’s persistent drought. However new data from research about its dangerous results has led international locations, states, cities and counties to rethink its use and weigh its dangers towards the advantages. The long-term detrimental results of plastic turf in public areas, versus pure grass, can have crippling results on each public well being and the surroundings.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is scheduled to contemplate on Tuesday an ordinance prohibiting new installations of plastic synthetic turf on county property. This measure, introduced ahead by us and supported by quite a few neighborhood organizations and advocates, goals to guard the well being and security of the surroundings and neighborhood, significantly youngsters. These organizations and advocates embody the Santa Clara County Medical Affiliation (SCCMA), Inexperienced Foothills, Sierra Membership Loma Prieta Chapter, quite a few native college students, a coalition of involved dad and mom and extra.
Plastic turf incorporates hazardous chemical compounds, bio-accumulative “forever” chemical compounds (PFAS) and heavy metals linked to endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Youngsters are particularly weak to those toxins, which they’ll soak up by pores and skin contact, inhalation or ingestion. Furthermore, business claims of “safe” new turf merchandise are likely to lack complete testing for organic and environmental hurt.
The SCCMA has discovered plastic turf to be an unsustainable substitute for pure grass attributable to its potential adversarial well being and environmental results. Main well being considerations embody poisonous chemical publicity, orthopedic and head accidents, and heat-related sickness, with youngsters being significantly weak attributable to their organic growth, and extra frequent and nearer bodily contact with plastic turf.
Research on highschool, faculty {and professional} athletes persistently present a rise in decrease extremity sports activities accidents, attributable to elevated biomechanical stress on joints when enjoying on plastic turf fields. The blades of plastic turf additionally lower into naked pores and skin, whereas grass doesn’t. Furthermore, deceleration research present head influence is considerably larger on plastic turf. {Many professional} athletes and associations such because the NFL Gamers Affiliation and the U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Soccer Workforce strongly favor pure grass fields. The latter even filed a lawsuit to play matches on pure grass.
Plastic turfs are city warmth islands. They turn into hotter than concrete and expertise floor temperatures 40-70 F larger than pure grass, which not often exceeds 100 levels. This poses a threat of warmth accidents and fewer playability.
Furthermore, disposal of plastic turf is problematic due to a mean eight-to-10-year lifespan. 1000’s of non-biodegradable worn-out turf rolls now decay in landfills, empty tons and farmlands nationwide. Being a product of crude oil, plastic turf contributes to local weather change, toxicity, air pollution and different hazards. Pure residing grass mitigates these points.
Primarily based on a life-cycle evaluation, water use for plastic turf is just not considerably totally different from pure grass. Plastic turf really requires common cleansing and watering to cool it down on sizzling days, sometimes utilizing ingesting water. Pure grass could be irrigated with recycled water.
Water conservation additionally includes defending water sources from microplastic air pollution, PFAS and different poisonous chemical compounds. Plastic turf fibers have been present in 50% of the waterways examined by researchers in Spain, making up as a lot as 1 / 4 of the whole plastic pollution within the samples. These pollution additionally seep into groundwater, the place they’re extraordinarily tough and costly to take away.
A precautionary method for the long-term safety of youngsters, the surroundings and public well being means stopping the set up of plastic turf and investing in well-maintained pure grass fields. Contemplating all that’s at stake, it’s the accountable manner ahead to guard public well being and the way forward for the environment.
Supervisor Otto Lee represents the Third District and is president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Dr. Cindy Russell is co-chair of the Environmental Well being Committee of the Santa Clara County Medical Affiliation.
