Following concise staff and consultant presentations, Councilwoman Mungo took the floor and proceeded to speak for much of the remainder of the roughly 90+ minute meeting. After telling the audience to disbelieve a flier (opposed to the synthetic field) that she said contained inaccuracies [not independently reviewed by us], Councilwoman Mungo proceeded to read and offer her responses to a stack of questions/comments. Following what the Councilwoman said was the final card, veteran park protection advocate Ann Cantrell raised her hand and sought to speak about alleged health issues concerning the use of "crumb rubber" synthetic turf.
LBREPORT.com provides video of what took place below. It speaks for itself.
We also publish below the text (emailed to Councilmembers and the Mayor, provided to us by Ms. Cantrell) of what she says she tried to say at the public meeting.
There was some discussion later in the meeting of the crumb rubber issue. LBREPORT.com has additional video coming.
[Cantrell communication] Dear Mayor and Councilmembers:
In my lifetime, I have seen many supposedly safe materials found to be hazardous to human health and to the environment. Tobacco, asbestos and lead especially come to mind. In fact in 2006, artificial turf was found to have dangerous amounts of lead-containing pigments to keep the synthetic blades bright green. The Center for Environmental Health, along with the CA attorney general, were able to get major turf companies to switch to safer, non-lead based pigments. Is the City dealing with a company that makes lead-free turf?
What other chemicals may be lurking in this turf?
These proposed fields are made of recycled tires which are ground into "crumb rubber." There are many questions about the safety of this material. In fact, Senator Hill has a proposed bill, SB47, in the CA legislature, which calls for "studies analyzing potential adverse health impacts of synthetic turf" and "prohibiting installation of a new field or playground surface made from synthetic turf in schools or public parks." It appears there is a rush on the part of Parks and Recreation and Councilmember Mungo to get the field in El Dorado Park approved before this bill gets through the legislature. At the January 26, 2015 meeting, [Parks & Rec Dir] George Chapjian stated there would be an EIR for this project. At the Feb. 23 meeting, we were told an EIR is not required. Neighbors are concerned about additional traffic and lighting; I have concerns about children playing on toxic materials.
Tires, especially used tires, are a complicated mix of chemicals. State health scientists in California have done three reports (2007, 2009 and 2010) about potentially toxic chemicals in infill. The state scientists identified a whopping 33 chemicals in tire-based infill that have serious health concerns like cancer and reproductive harm. Well-known pediatrician and public health expert Dr. Phil Landrigan of New York’s Mt. Sinai School of Medicine says: "What is not yet known is the extent to which these chemicals may get into the bodies of children playing on turf fields or the extent to which they may leach from the fields into the surrounding environment, soil and groundwater."
The EPA has published a list of dangerous chemicals and carcinogens that could be present in any tire converted to crumb rubber, including arsenic, chloroethane, latex, lead, mercury, phenol, nickel and isoprene, among others.
Arsenic, benzene, cadmium and nickel have been deemed carcinogens by the International Agency for Cancer Research. Others have been linked to skin, eye and respiratory irritation, kidney and liver problems, allergic reactions, nervous systems disorders and developmental delays.
Then there are the problems of Injuries:
Natural turf yields to the force of a blow, but an arm or leg driven along the unyielding surface of artificial turf is more likely to be injured. The fields can be brutal on the body, leaving bloody open wounds on players that scrape their exposed skin on the ground. Those open wounds are exposed to dangerous carcinogens harbored in the rubber. (Amy Griffin, a woman’s soccer coach, has a list of 50 woman players with cancer. Most are goalies, who come in contact with the rubber crumbs more frequently than other players. Most of the 50 athletes on Griffin's list had either lymphoma or leukemia -- cancers of the blood.)
The American Academy of Neurology suggests that concussions are more prevalent on synthetic turfs, in part because improved traction lets athletes accelerate and collide at higher speeds.
Since artificial turf does not have the same cooling effects as natural turf, surface temperatures can be 30° warmer above the artificial surfaces. The Center for Environmental Health reports an artificial turf field at Brigham Young Un. reached 200 degrees on a 98 degree day. Water is used in order to cool down the fields, which totally eliminates one of the main advantages of artificial over grass turfs.
As I have grandchildren playing soccer on LB fields, I certainly understand the current problems with lack of maintenance and the need for better fields. I would ask Councilmember Mungo and the other councilmembers slated to have these fields in their parks to take this issue back to the City Council. The Council allocated $6.5 for 4 artificial turf fields in LB. I would suggest that they use these funds to hire grounds keepers to maintain all the city’s natural turf soccer fields to a high standard, such as those at Cal State LB. I am sure this could be done for much less money than $1.7 million a field to install artificial turf.
As long as there is any question as to the safety of artificial turf, I believe it is the duty of the council and the Parks and Rec Department to wait until the studies are done by competent scientists, not by the manufacturers of synthetic turf. There is enough concern in the industry that substitute materials are being developed. Although cork is more expensive, at least it is a natural substance, and not likely to be filled with dangerous chemicals such as found in recycled tires.
Please Google "synthetic turf" and read about the health concerns for yourselves. Your decision on this can affect the health and lives of thousands of children.
Respectfully,
Ann Cantrell
Fifth District
