Artificial turf with crumb rubber infill helps communities around the country stay healthy and active year-round. The recent paper on crumb rubber from Northeastern University (reported on in Turf and Rec) overlooked comprehensive research on its use, and instead raised unfounded fears about the material.
The reality is that potential health risks of crumb rubber have been studied extensively, most recently by the U.S. EPA and the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (CalOEHHA).
The EPA found that exposures from crumb rubber are “likely limited” and similar to grass, while the California study found: “no significant health risks to players, coaches, referees and spectators from on-field or off-field exposure to field-related chemicals in crumb rubber infill from synthetic turf fields based on available data.”
This is part of an extensive and growing body of research, including research from the European Chemicals Agency and the Netherlands, showing that health risk from crumb rubber is not significant.
When making decisions about local playing fields, community members and decision-makers should rely on the strong body of existing research that is focused on human health impacts.
