The Environmental Disaster of Artificial Turf
So let’s look at what makes artificial turf such an enemy of the environment and health. Although not scientific in terms of laboratory research I have been an observer of artificial turf and its positive and negative attributes for many years. My personal observation comes from having 3 athletic children. My oldest son is 23 and he played division 1 baseball at Santa Clara University in Northern California. My daughter has played field hockey for the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California and it is in her last season there. My youngest son plays football and is a senior at Torrey Pines High School in Del Mar, California. They all played club soccer when they were younger and during their collective sports careers they have played on numerous artificial turf fields. I can tell you that my daughter loves playing on the surface because the ball plays much truer with less bad bounces. My sons would say the same about their sports. There is no doubt that there is an advantage from a playability standpoint. However they are also quick to say that more often than not in the spring to fall seasons the temperatures of the field can be extremely uncomfortable. They have received scrapes and burns from the synthetic strands of turf and it is generally a hard and unforgiving surface to fall on. The ground up tire flies in their eyes, sticking to their skin and hair. It is ingested and inhaled and there is no reasonable person on this earth that can say it could possibly be good for you. There are 60 known chemicals, toxins and carcinogens in rubber tires! Can you really debate the health issue?!?
Heating Up
As a spectator, standing on the field I have noticed the temperature increase by comparison to the surrounding environment. When I would arrive at my daughters away games at Berkley the temperature was a moderate 75 degrees and comfortable, yet on the artificial grass as I am watching the game I am perspiring. Why?
Recently, an article published from findings that the City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation released; they found the artificial turf temperatures were 8 degrees higher than adjacent asphalt and 39 degrees higher than natural turf. The artificial turf was 37 degrees higher than the ambient temperature of the surrounding area. On the hottest day of the year at a New York City park the synthetic turf was 86.5 degrees hotter than natural grass. The article went on to site similar results from researchers at Penn State.
My unscientific personal observations confirmed this research when I was watching my son work with his quarterback coach on a day in July at the Torrey Pines High School artificial turf football field. Torrey Pines High School is about a half mile from the Pacific Ocean. The stadium is sunken and not oriented to receive cooling breezes, but still, this is the coast. It was a warm enough day that I decided to wear shorts, shirt and flip flops…how So Cal of me! As I stood there watching Matt, I thought I would kick off my sandals and roll my toes in the “turf”. OUCH! It was like standing on an asphalt parking lot! Again, keep in mind this is the coast, not inland. His team practices on the natural turf field in August during “Hell Week” because of the unbearable heat of the artificial turf during that month. Ironic isn’t it?!!
Heat Island effect
Heat Island Effect is a phenomenon that occurs in the cities. It is primarily an urban effect due to the built environment; such as dark colored roof materials, asphalt and other dark colored impervious surfaces. These materials absorb the suns light and give off heat as a byproduct. That heat accumulates over the built environment and increases the ambient temperatures by varying amounts depending on the region. This same article referenced above recorded average temperature increases of 7 degrees during the hot summer months in New York.
Infrared Satellite imagery shows differences in surface temperatures relative to the amount of heat that they give off. A dramatic photo showed the same color/heat emanating from an artificial turf field right next to an asphalt play area. In other words, artificial turf reflects the same amount of heat as artificial turf thus contributing to the heat island effect. In effect; installing artificial turf is the same as laying down asphalt pavement in terms of the heat island effect.
The proven mitigation for the heat island effect is the planting of trees, shrubs and natural turf. This lowers the ambient temperatures, the plants absorb greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, and they give off oxygen as their byproduct while filtering water and air pollutants. It doesn’t take a researcher from Harvard to tell me that replacing acres of natural turf with artificial turf has a negative effect on the environment while decreasing the positive environmental effects of natural turf at the same time.
More Later
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