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02/01/2016 11:00 PMThe charged debate surrounding the use of synthetic turf fields in competitive sports has wound its way into Guilford. As the Guilford High School Building Committee (GHSBC) considers a new artificial field, local residents are pushing back with concerns about possible health risks.
GHSBC voted to approve the new field in December 2015. The multipurpose field will not cost the taxpayers any additional money, since it is being financed by the funds left in the high school construction budget, but the money doesn’t seem to be the biggest issue.
Parents and concerned residents have formed a Facebook group, Guilford Residents Concerned About Turf (GRCAT), to discuss the issue and express concerns. The group currently has more than 170 members.
Margot White, a member of the group, said the harmful substances such as chemicals and carcinogens that certain studies have linked to artificial turf are of concern to her, especially as a parent.
“In 2014 we were attending a sports event [for young children] at the existing crumb rubber field at the high school,” she said. “My five year old took a fall, face down on the field. He was crying, and his throat was burning. Moments later he vomited. He explained that prior to the throat burning, he got some of the particles from the field in his mouth. As I picked them out his hair and off his clothes, I began to wonder about the toxicity of the material.”
The group is citing reports from the Center for Disease Control and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to support its petitions.
“In 2013, the EPA and Consumer Product Safety Commission withdrew guidance that the material is safe for use and state that further study is required citing their own studies were limited in scope. Tire manufacturers never designed nor intended tires to be used as infill at their end-of-life,” group members wrote.
To express their concerns to local leaders, the group has visited the Board of Education, the Standing Fields Committee, and will visit GHSBC on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at its usual meeting. GRCAT member Alexandra Gross said she feels the behavior of school officials can be seen as negligent.
“The superintendent, the Board of Education, the GHSBC, and Guilford Public Schools are responsible for the safety of our children,” she said. “They owe it to us all to uphold their responsibilities and protect our children from any known or potential harm. It is irresponsible and a violation of their duties to allow crumb rubber fields to be used in our town in any form while a question still exists as to their safety. Until the federal government has concluded their tests and stated with certainty that crumb rubber presents no threat, it cannot be allowed in our town.”
White says they hope to finally see action taken by the GHSBC when it meets later this month.
“We hope the GHSBC will vote to abandon its plan to install a second artificial turf field at the high school,” she said. “There is not enough information to be able to state with any degree of certainty that artificial turfs fields are safe for our children.”
GHSBC Communications Chair Mary Beeman said all meetings leading up to the approval of the field were open to the public and in the course of several months, only two residents expressed concerns about turf.
“The Board of Education and the town also had independent testing done on the existing football field in 2008, with no results that would indicate a health risk,” she said. “We are aware and, of course, accept and respect that some people have good-faith concerns about artificial turf. However, it seems reasonable under the circumstances that town officials consider and rely on the conclusions of the responsible Connecticut state agencies that conducted the investigations.”
Beeman cited a particular study conducted by the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in 2010, and said the results were conclusive.
“The study concluded, in part, ‘outdoor and indoor artificial turf fields are not associated with elevated health risks from the inhalation of volatile or particle-bound chemicals,’” she said.
Superintendent of Schools Paul Freeman said despite the Board of Education having no jurisdiction on this issue, he felt the GHSBC was right to follow reports from the state of Connecticut.
“We don’t feel that it is unreasonable for a Connecticut school system to make decisions that are informed by the best and the most current science as shared with us by the Connecticut Department of Health and to follow the positions that those agencies have adopted,” he said. “I don’t say that to minimize anybody’s concerns, I absolutely appreciate the level of involvement and I appreciate the level of concern, but at a certain point, Connecticut school systems need to be guided by the appropriate Connecticut agencies.”
For now the new artificial turf field is on scheduled to be installed this spring. The next public meeting for the GHSBC will be Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 7 p.m. in the Guilford High School Library.