SACRAMENTO, CA—State Senator Abel Maldonado sponsored a bill (SB1277) to prepare and provide to the Legislature and post on the board’s Internet Web site a study on the effects of synthetic turf and natural turf on the environment and public health.
To fund the study, $200,000 has been allocated from fees collected from the monies Californians pay when they dispose of tires.
As California’s budgets have now passed, the bill has been signed and the study will now move forward. The published study is due on or before Sept 1, 2010.
We expect to see much of the same results as many other studies have shown to date*. Artificial turf systems, appropriately engineered and installed with quality products will prove to be of great value in reducing the use of water, chemicals and power tools used for the upkeep of natural grass projects while increasing the use, form and function of the installation site.
* You can download a copy of the 2007 OEHHA Study of the use of recycled rubber on playgrounds here:
http://www.asgi.us/publicdownloads/oehha_2007_62206013.pdf
To summarize the report’s conclusions – to spite the evidence that shows there are quite a few “suspect” chemicals of “risk” that are found in recycled crumb rubber materials used on playgrounds – OEHHA test findings show that none of these chemicals pose a health threat to children or others during typical use; by accidental ingestion, inhalation or skin exposure; nor do they pose risks of environmental impact for air, water or soil contamination through aging or leaching, over time. The OEHHA report included the review of 46 existing studies on the subject.
Existing law requires all new playgrounds open to the public built by a public agency or any other entity to conform to the playground-related standards set forth by the American Society for Testing and Materials
(ASTM) and the playground-related guidelines set forth by the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
This bill would require, on or before September 1, 2010, the Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB), in consultation with the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) and the State Department of Public Health, to prepare and provide to the Legislature and post on the board’s Internet Web site a study on the effects of synthetic turf and natural turf on the environment and public health.