California’s OEHHA Synthetic Turf Study: Assessment of health risks from exposure to crumb rubber infill

Abstracts

California’s OEHHA Synthetic Turf Study: Assessment of health risks from exposure to crumb rubber infill 
Presented by Jocelyn Claude, PhD

In this study, OEHHA sampled air (on and off the field) and crumb rubber from 35 fields across California, and assessed five health outcomes: acute inhalation toxicity, developmental and reproductive toxicity, sensory irritation, general chronic toxicity, and cancer risk. OEHHA and researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, and University of Arizona conducted an elaborate assessment of how soccer players could be exposed to the chemicals. This consisted of surveys of more than 1,000 soccer players, aged 7 through 71, regarding play style such as diving or sliding onto the field and other field contact during games and practices, and videotaping soccer players during practices and games. The assessment for athletes (2-70 years old); coaches (16-70 years old); referees (16-70 years old); and spectators (third trimester-70 years old), indicated that field-related chemical exposures, on average, would be below levels of concern. The risk assessment concluded that even in extreme instances of turf use scenarios, the odds of exposure to hazardous chemicals over the level of concern actually occurring is pretty low.
 

Health and environment at play: What the evidence says about artificial turf playing fields
Presented by Rebecca Goulding, PhD

The growing use of artificial turf on playing fields has raised concerns about potential health risks to players and environmental impacts. This brief presentation will provide a high‑level overview of key findings from our evidence review of health risks and environmental concerns associated with these fields.

Speakers

Jocelyn Claude, PhD is a Staff Toxicologist in the Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology Branch (PETB) at the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). Jocelyn obtained her Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the University of California Davis. She has worked for OEHHA for 10 years on projects including the health risk assessment of crumb rubber infill on synthetic turf fields and pesticide risk assessment review.

Rebecca Goulding, PhD (she/her) is an Environmental Health and Knowledge Translation Scientist at the NCCEH. Her work focuses on translating environmental health evidence into actionable insights for public health, with current areas of focus including climate change–related hazards such as extreme heat and extreme cold, emergency preparednesss, and health risks associated with artificial turf playing fields. She has expertise in evidence synthesis, systematic reviews, and medical science communication, and holds a PhD in Genetics from the University of British Columbia.