Artificial turf: The contributions and limits of toxicology in decision-making

Abstract

Artificial turf continues to generate media and public health attention as a potential source of lead and other contaminants harmful to children’s health. This is despite human health risk assessments (HHRAs) showing that exposure to crumb rubber does not result in risk estimates that exceed acceptable thresholds in North America or Europe. However, there is a troubling disconnect between the way the public conceptualizes risk from artificial turf and the tools and methods that the scientific world deploys to address it. This paper will examine the risk aspects of artificial turf that make it particularly tenacious in occupying public attention and provide a brief update of the most recent artificial turf research. We will also discuss the expected contributions, and potential shortcomings, of the large inter-agency efforts to better characterize and quantify human health risks due to artificial turf exposure. Furthermore, we will also discuss risk communication and management approaches to address health concerns as well as the need to move the artificial turf debate into a larger arena to understand its full impacts on community well-being.

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