Reporter's Notes: Playing with Lead
Artificial Turf. Credit: Anthony V. ThompsonIt's easy to get scared. You look around the Oakland office of the Center for Environmental Health, and lead is everywhere. Piles of toys that are loaded with lead. Lunch boxes and kids' backpacks that have tested positive for high levels of lead. Samples of artificial turf.
And that's just the beginning. Lead has been found in venetian blinds, in pens, in the glaze of ceramic cups and bowls. It has been found in imported candies. And one Mexican folk remedy to cure stomachaches has landed a number of children in the hospital recently – a packet of powder that is almost entirely lead.
Since the effects of lead are cumulative, all those points of contamination add up.
Children's developing brains and central nervous systems are most susceptible to damage from ingesting lead. That's why a new federal standard for lead in children's products was recently put in place. And that's why the Center for Environmental Health, for one, focuses on products that come in contact with children on a daily basis.
The amount of lead in artificial turf, by itself, is unlikely to cause lead poisoning. And the same is true for the amount of lead found in lunch boxes, or in children's jewelry. But medical experts say that if kids play on artificial turf in the morning, distractedly put a charm bracelet in their mouths during class, and eat food from a lunch box with lead embedded in the vinyl – then those kids are at risk for lead impairment, such as a loss of IQ points, a sign of brain damage. For more, listen to the QUEST Radio story, or check our photos below.
4 Comments
Dear Mr. Gorn, Thank you for this timely story. I wish it could be broadcast throughout the week. I am part of a community group in San Carlos that is fighting the proposed installation of synthetic turf in a public park that is used by many small children. We would love to speak with you and focus more attention on the health hazards, environmental harm and financial imprudence of synthetic turf in our public parks. Please contact me. Thank you!
I am frustrated that the reporter for "Playing with Lead" was unable to infuse science into his QUEST report. While I agree that environmental lead contamination is a concern and a valid topic for NPR to report on, the Quest series is supposed to focus on science, environment and nature. The report limited its scope to simple health and safety concerns, and, at times, seemed to resort to scare tactics to make a point. It was not an exploration of a scientific topic, and I am surprised that the reporter was so uncreative. For example, one might ask "why is there lead in paint?", "what underlying physics and chemistry necessitate the element", "why/how does it interfere with biological functions?", "what is the pathway to metabolizing it?", or "is the form of lead in paints more easily metabolized and why?". There are many interesting scientific questions, but this reporter chose not explore any science in this report. Perhaps the reporter believes the public to be so naive as to need such a simple presentation? Perhaps the reporter does not understand the reason for lead toxicity? In either case, perhaps scarce National Science Foundation funds would be better spent on fundamental academic research, than on such poor reporting as this.
For the most recent studies on the chemical stew of synthetic turf, please log onto the report from Environment and Human Health Inc:
http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/
For those who are in need of more science, Please read this recent report from Rutgers:
HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS IN SYNTHETIC TURF
By William Crain and Junfeng Zhang**
A new generation of synthetic turf is becoming popular in the U.S.
Brands such as FieldTurf are springier than the old AstroTurf and feel
more like real grass. They also promise low maintenance costs. New
York City is so attracted to the new synthetic turf that it is
installing it in 79 parks, often substituting it for natural soil and
grass.(1)
However, the new artificial grass raises health concerns. In
particular, the base of FieldTurf and similar brands includes recycled
rubber pellets that could contain harmful chemicals. What's more, we
have observed that on many New York City fields, the rubber pellets
are also present on the surface. When one of us (William Crain) was
picking up some pellets by hand, a boy told him that after playing in
the park, he finds the pellets in his shoes at home at night. Because
the rubber pellets are much more accessible to children and athletes
than we had supposed, we decided to analyze a sample for two possible
sets of toxicants — polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and toxic
metals.
We collected our first sample from a new FieldTurf surface in
Manhattan's Riverside Park in May, 2006. To gain information on the
reliability of our results, we gathered a second sample in June, 2006
from a different part of the park.
The PAHs were extracted in a Soxhlet apparatus with organic solvents.
The metals were extracted by means of nitric acid with the aid of a
high-efficiency microwave oven (Marsx Microwave). Both methods were
used to estimate the maximum amounts of the chemicals contained in the
bulk material (rubber pellets). The analyses were conducted at the
Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute of Rutgers
University.
The PAH results for our first sample are listed as Sample 1 in Table
1, below. As the table shows, six PAHs were above the concentration
levels that the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC) considers sufficiently hazardous to public health
to require their removal from contaminated soil sites (2). It is
highly likely that all six PAHs are carcinogenic to humans.
The PAH results for Sample 2 are also listed in the table. Although
the concentration levels in Samples 1 and 2 varied somewhat, the
results for Sample 2 replicated the finding that the concentration
levels of the six PAHs are above the DEC's tolerable levels for soil.
===================================================
Table 1. Concentrations of PAHs (ppm*)
……………….. Sample 1 ……… Sample 2 ……. DEC
……………….. FieldTurf …….. FieldTurf …… Contaminated
……………….. Rubber Pellets…. Rubber Pellets . Soil Limits
Benzo(a)anthracene…. 1.23 ………… 1.26 ……….. 1.0
Chrysene …………. 1.32 ………… 7.55 ……….. 1.0
Benzo(b)fluoranthene.. 3.39 ………… 2.19 ……….. 1.0
Benzo(a)pyrene ……. 8.58 ………… 3.56 ……….. 1.0
Benzo(k)fluoranthene.. 7.29 ………… 1.78 ……….. 0.8
Dibenzo(a,h)anthracene 3.52 ………… 1.55 ……….. 0.33
* ppm = parts per million
===================================================
The analyses also revealed levels of zinc in both samples that exceed
the DEC's tolerable levels. Lead and arsenic also were present, and
many scientists believe that these metals should not be introduced
into the environment at all.
We want to emphasize that the findings are preliminary. PAHs in rubber
might not act the same way as in soil, and we do not yet have
information on the ease with which the PAHs in these rubber particles
might be absorbed by children or adults — by ingestion, inhalation,
or absorption through the skin. However, the findings are worrisome.
Until more is known, it wouldn't be prudent to install the synthetic
turf in any more parks.
We have informed the New York City Parks Department of our findings,
but as far as we know, the Parks Department has not altered its plans
to continue the installation of FieldTurf in numerous parks.
** William Crain, Ph.D., is professor of psychology at The City
College of New York and president of Citizens for a Green Riverside
Park. Junfeng (Jim) Zhang, Ph.D. is professor and acting chair,
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, the School of
Public Health, the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
and Rutgers University.
References
(1) New Yorkers for Parks. A New Turf War: Synthetic Turf in New York
City's Parks — Special Report, Spring 2006. http://www.NY4P.org
(2) 6 NYCRR Part 375, Environmental Remediation Program, Draft
Revised June 14, 2006, Department of Environmental Conservation,
Table 375-6.8 (a) and (b).
Our organization studied the crumb(ground up tires in the synthetic turfs.
The report can be found at http://www.albany.edu/ihe/SyntheticTurfChemicalsdar.htm