Pol: No More Turf In City Pks. Until Fields Tested For Toxins

Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum and Geoffrey Croft of NYC Park Advocates called on the city to issue an immediate moratorium of the installation of artificial turf fields until physical testing of all current artificial turf fields has been completed.

The Parks Department announced last Monday, Dec. 22 that it was closing the synthetic field at Thomas Jefferson Park in East Harlem after discovering high levels of lead in the field. According to the Parks Department, "Thomas Jefferson is part of a research project examining air samples collected at synthetic-turf fields."

"For two years, I have called for independent physical testing of the synthetic turf in our parks," said Gotbaum, a former Parks commissioner. "For two years, the city has dragged its heels, insisting that there was no cause for concern. And now, the city has announced that it is closing a synthetic turf field because of elevated lead levels.

"While I am glad to see the city listened to us and began testing turf fields, we don't know how many people have been exposed to this lead hazard," she added. "What we do know is that the city can no longer ignore our concerns."

In April 2007, Gotbaum called for independent testing of rubber pellets that may potentially pose serious health risks to New Yorkers. The rubber pellets, used in more than 70 athletic fields throughout the city, are made from recycled tires that contain chemicals that have been linked to birth defects, cancer and other health problems.

The health risks to families and kids playing on the turf remain unknown.

Last February, the public advocate along with New Yorkers for Parks, Natural Resources Defense Council, and New York Lawyers for the Public Interest sent a letter to Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Thomas Frieden and Parks Commissioner Adrian Benepe.

The letter requested that the Parks Department issue an immediate moratorium on the installation of artificial turf. It also requested that the Parks Department create a replacement schedule for existing turf fields, regardless of toxicity because they break down over time and become unusable and that Parks share this schedule with the City Council and community boards.

The letter also urged the DOHMH to immediately conduct tests of the different types of artificial turf fields that have been installed in city parks, and expedite its literature review of potential adverse health effects of artificial turf.