The latest in artificial turf research and communities rallying for real grass. Click on the name of the publication to read the article. For research findings, reports, our FOIL for Pier 42 and other background, see our Real or Unreal Grass page.
Why schools are ripping up playgrounds across the U.S.
Projects to plant trees, build shade structures and reduce the amount of pavement around schools have become high-priority as schoolyards become dangerously hot.
By Anna Phillips, September 14, 2024, Washington Post
The following are the paragraphs about artificial turf in the article:
Hotter play spaces are increasing the risk of contact burns and heat illness among children. Researchers at UCLA have documented surface temperatures of 145 degrees Fahrenheit on schoolyard asphalt. They have found that rubber and artificial turf, many districts’ go-to alternatives to pavement, can get even hotter.
Funding disparities between school districts are another obstacle, advocates said. Because poorer districts can’t afford large maintenance crews, advocates said that officials are sometimes less enthused about replacing pavement with cooler materials such as wood chips and decomposed granite, preferring artificial turf and rubber. These materials can be cheaper to maintain, but brutally hot.
from comments:
The Trust For Public Land too often installs poured rubber surfaces and yes even artificial turf in playgrounds. These surfaces actually get hotter than asphalt. We need funding for grounds keepers and also accurate information sharing to schools and school boards so they can make the right choices. Otherwise, “outdoor classrooms” and “facilities upgrades” will not actually be the healthy choice for kids, mentally and physically. Our elementary school district installed a glued rubber mulch mat in a school garden and kindergarten yard! Hot, smelly after over 2 years, and really unnatural.
Temps yesterday, on an 82° day:
rubber tile: 169°
artificial turf (sand balast, no infill otherwise): 150°
glued rubber mulch: 143°
Reply to above comment:
Your comment is exactly right. For some reason it is very hard to convince public officials that artificial turf, rubber and similar surfaces are not helpful. As a result we see artificial turf fields and rubber or artificial tracks installed, which unquestionably raise the temperature instead of lowering it. Natural grass is frowned on because it requires more maintenance (watering, for example). This way of thinking is nuts. My home county in a liberal Maryland suburb of DC (Montgomery County) is an example. To replace a grass field and an asphalt track with artificial turf and rubber is not an improvement; it is a harmful downgrade.
Artificial Turf Is Tearing Towns Apart
The PFAS in playing fields—and the open question of what they might do to kids—is turning into a culture war.
Liza Featherstone, May 14, 2024, The New Republic
…But many Rye residents, as well as city agencies and environmental groups, have raised serious objections to the installation of artificial turf on a floodplain by a creek. Unlike grass, it won’t absorb water, which could worsen the neighborhood’s exposure to flooding during a time of climate crisis. Equally worrisome, synthetic turf contains highly toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS, as well as microplastics, which can scatter into neighboring waterways and soil, where they can take hundreds or even thousands of years to break down, wreaking havoc on animals, plants, and ecosystems in the meantime.
PFAS-free Turf Recommendations,
Jeff Gearhart Research Director, November 16, 2020, Ecology Center: Healthy People Healthy Planet
…Our organization has been conducting research on PFAS content in commercial and residential indoor carpet, as well as synthetic artificial turf, for the last two years…
Of the nine synthetic turf fibers we tested last year, fluorine was detected in 100%. Fluorine levels ranged from 44 to 255 parts per million. Additional tests not detailed here on two of the samples found evidence of organic fluorine, supporting the likelihood that PFAS is present. These turf samples included both new and installed product. This sampling is limited and does not represent the entire market. However, we continue to conduct ongoing testing of samples and testing of additional samples had similar findings. And it highlights the need for companies to provide clear test results if they are claiming PFAS-free.
An Actual Turf War Erupts in Washington Heights as Parents Protest Synthetic Grass
A plan to replace dirt in Bennett Park with artificial turf has raised health and environmental concerns. But parks officials say turf is leagues easier to maintain than grass.
BY SAMANTHA MALDONADO, APRIL 4, 2024, The City
Maggi Farmer, a lawyer who lives in the neighborhood, at first liked the idea of artificial turf at the park, though her almost 3-year-old son enjoyed playing in what she called the “dust bowl” at Bennett.
“It feels nice to sit on, there’s no dirt, it makes places look clean,” she said. But as she read up on artificial turf, she changed her mind. She said she tries to reduce plastic in her life and worries about the effects of chemicals that could be in the synthetic turf.
“This is one of the most natural places we have — how can we just cover it with a plastic carpet?” she said.
Dangerous Play: Studies find harmful ‘forever chemicals’ in artificial turf fields
BEYOND PLASTIC, March 13, 2024
…Just last year, the City of Philadelphia installed a $7.5 million field at Murphy Recreation Center in South Philadelphia that was supposedly free of PFAS. Now, we’re learning that tests run on the turf used and the testing used to attempt to detect PFAS on this turf was incredibly flawed, leading to results that said the artificial turf was PFAS-free, when in fact it was not.