> Can artificial turf cause cancer? 13/6/2006
Last week the Dutch consultancy firm Intron published a report into the consequences to player's health of playing on artificial turf. The results are alarming: Certain component parts of artificial turf could possibly be carcinogenic.
The main culprits, according to the report, are the small rubber granules which are scattered on the artificial turf to imitate the natural effects of real grass. These granules, made from ground car tyres, contain too high a concentration of PAHs. Exposure of the skin to these hydrocarbons can lead to cancer.
No standards exist in the Netherlands for skin contact with PAHs. Due to the lack of a government standard, the guideline from the German TÜV institute has been used for the study. If this directive is followed then, according to the report, it appears that ‘the rubber infill granules do not satisfy the requirement of 10 mg/kg PAH by a contact time of more than 30 seconds. It does satisfy the requirement by a contact time of less than 30 seconds.’ In other words: A serious indication that an injured player who lies for several minutes on the ground could run health risks.
Intron comes to the conclusion in its report that there is uncertainty about the consequences of exposure of the skin to PAHs. According to the report it is recommended to study the possible exposure to PAHs via skin contact in more detail.
In Italy the LND football league has earlier commissioned a similar study. On the basis of this study the LND decided to no longer permit matches on artificial turf with untreated PAHs.
http://www.fifpro.org/index.php?mod=one&id=15200
