LIGHTNING RELEASES (12/19/2014) – Efforts to increase regulations of activities related to recreation and public spaces were bolstered this week with the introduction of Senator Jerry Hill’s The Children’s Safe Playground and Turf Field Act of 2015, SB 47, a bill that would prohibit a public or private school or local government until Jan. 1, 2018, from installing, or contracting for the installation of a new field or playground surface made from synthetic turf containing crumb rubber from used tires in public or private schools or public parks.
For most artificial grass manufacturers turf comes with a recycled rubber infill. While every turf product undergoes the series of thorough tests, the research done on crumb rubber in 2007 and 2010 has gaps, according to the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Now, the crumb rubber is under suspicion to contain chemicals linked to cancer. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there is a list of health concerns in respect to fields infilled with rubber crumbs.
“We anticipated the idea of potential health implications from the use of recycled tires in artificial grass installations for the day one,” said Rachel Brady, Global Sun-Turf Marketing and Sales Manager. “Global Syn-Turf has never recommended rubber infill to customers or partners. We respect and fully support the senator Hill’s decision and will do everything possible to educate all of our installers to use turf that is safe for people and installed exclusively with organic infill. Most people think that the rubber crumbs are required for the artificial grass installation. It is a huge misconception. The infills we suggest in the installation are organic, some of them are made from the purest 98% Clinoptilolite zeolite which is volcano ash that landed on purified water millions of years ago.
While it will take approximately three years to conduct a complete study, SB 47 will prohibit to infill the artificial grass with rubber crumbs.
“We share the concern of exposing children and athletes to harmful compounds. Most manufacturers are starting to imply they do not sell the rubber, but in reality they still do because they have storage facilities full of rubber infill. Throughout our entire history we have not sold one single particle of rubber,” – said David Maronic, Global Syn-Turf Director of Sales, -“As much as Jerry Hill and people of the United States, we don’t want to risk the health of our children and athletes by exposing them to dangerous chemicals that might be contained in the recycled tires. “
The rubber infill is a cheaper alternative to the lawn- or shock pads. Every playground and sports field should meet precise requirements for shock attenuation performance called GMax measurement. Sports field’s managers often aim for the synthetic turf with taller blades to infill it with the sufficient amount of rubber crumbs to meet safety requirements.
“Artificial grass does not require the rubber infill. All our products are designed to provide safety and meet Gmax standards with purely organic infill materials,” – said Rachel Brady, – “For sports fields and playgrounds, we always recommend the turf with shorter blades. It takes less organic infill to stabilize the surface and straighten up the blades, and you use shock-, or lawn-pads to offer protection from critical head injuries. The rubber infill has been vigorously advertised by the artificial grass manufacturers as a part of their marketing strategy. But we all have kids, and as parents we care about their health and safety. We expect schools to make good decisions for our children and to require pads and organic infill’s quotes from installers.”
Global Syn-Turf, Inc., the leading manufacturer of synthetic turf in the country, fully supports Senator Hill’s concern for children and the public good, and expresses its enthusiastic support of the bill and the intend to continue raising public awareness of potential health issues associated with the improper artificial grass installation.
Global Syn-Turf’s products were created for people who care about staying eco-friendly throughout the year and beyond, reduce pollution, minimize water consumption and will endure for at least two decades.
For more information on how this bill will impact artificial grass professionals, please contact us at
http://www.globalsynturf.com
Contact person: Rachel Brady
Contact phone number: (877) 796-8873