Safe Fields Alliance Issues Statement in Response to NBC Report

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Today the Safe Fields Alliance (“SFA”), a coalition dedicated to educating stakeholders around the safety of synthetic turf fields using crumb rubber, issued the following statement in response to the September 30^th, 2015 NBC News report on this topic:

First and foremost, our sympathy goes out to the cancer patients and their families featured in the NBC report. Nothing is more important than the safety and health of children. That is why when making decisions related to children’s safety and health we have to look at the facts and the science, which in this case are extremely clear: synthetic turf fields using crumb rubber are safe. Dozens of scientific studies, including peer-reviewed academic analyses and federal and state government reports, have all found no connection between these fields and cancer or other health issues.

When this issue was first raised in 2008, a number of studies were commissioned and the overwhelming majority of the scientific community was satisfied that the results showed no reason for concern. As NBC notes in its report, “No research has linked crumb or shredded rubber to cancer.”

“No research has linked crumb or shredded rubber to cancer.”

We join the chorus of voices calling on the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to take a stand. In our view, scientific studies analyzed by independent third-parties that hold up under peer-review from qualified toxicologists are the best antidote for uncertainty.

The NBC report cited several chemicals found in crumb rubber as points of concern. However, this information is misleading without context and without baselines, especially given that we all eat, drink, and breathe trace levels of chemicals in our daily lives. Industry voluntarily ensures the levels of any chemicals in synthetic turf fields are lower than the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s lead and chemical standards for children’s toys and the Environmental Protection Agency’s safe standards for urban and rural soils.

More research can always be done, and we are willing to support any additional scientific studies in any way we can. However, it should be pointed out that over a decade of research has not produced a single published, peer-reviewed study that shows that crumb rubber is unsafe.

For further information on the Safe Fields Alliance please visit http://www.safefieldsalliance.com/, and for a collection of relevant studies visit http://www.safefieldsalliance.com/#!research/c13ps.