This is the fifth in a series of articles, prepared by Chevy Chase citizens using public sources, that address the growing risks associated with artificial turf playing fields.Hazards of excessive heat and increased injury have long been documented. New findings on the extreme toxicity of PFAS in artificial turf call into serious question its continued use. Maret School plans to install nearly four acres of artificial turf for its field development at the Episcopal Center for Children at Utah and Nebraska Avenues.
Excessive temperature on artificial turf is a problem recognized by everyone, including plastic turf manufacturers. Although a major selling point for plastic turf has been the availability of the fields to be used in all weather conditions, the President of the Synthetic Turf Council, Rick Doyle, admits, "’Just as coaches have to reschedule games due to rain when they play on grass fields,’ so too they need to reschedule or consider an alternative surface to play on when it's hot and sunny.” https://www.npr.org/2008/08/07/93364750/high-temps-on-turf-fields-spark-safety-concerns
Estimates of the temperature difference on plastic turf relative to natural grass vary widely. Turfgrass Producers International, a professional organization of grass seed and sod producers, reports “artificial lawns have been documented to be up to 86.5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than natural turf under identical conditions.On an average summer 90-degree day, the surface of artificial turf will be 165 degrees Fahrenheit.” https://gvt.net/debunking-myths-around-artificial-turf/#:~:text=Myth%201%3A%20Artificial%20turf%20uses%20less%20water&text=According%20to%20Turfgrass%20Producers%20International,*F%20degrees%20%E2%80%94%20that's%20hot!
It doesn’t take an extreme heat wave, or an equatorial latitude, to create these dangerous conditions. Actual recorded temperatures of two adjacent fields at the University of Maryland, one plastic and one natural grass, indicated a temperature difference at the same time on the same day of 63 degrees Fahrenheit! The grass field was 94 degrees, the plastic turf next to it was 157 degrees. https://www.safehealthyplayingfields.org/heat-levels-synthetic-turf
Playing on plastic turf fields in summer can result in serious injury. A study by the New York City Health Department concluded “people can suffer dehydration, heatstroke and thermal burns at field temperatures above 115 degrees.” https://www.npr.org/2008/08/07/93364750/high-temps-on-turf-fields-spark-safety-concerns. A burn can result after just two seconds of contact with a surface at 120 degrees. https://www.nrpa.org/parks-recreation-magazine/2019/may/synthetic-sports-fields-and-the-heat-island-effect/
The problem is that plastic turf does not provide any of the natural cooling resulting from both the transpiration of natural grass and the evaporation of moisture from natural soil. Transpiration is the release of water vapor from a plant. The rate of transpiration increases as temperature rises. A typical leaf will transpire many times its weight of water over the course of a single year. A mature oak tree can transpire 40,000 gallons of water per year (an indication of the cooling effect we have already lost at the Episcopal Center for Children (ECC) site by the removal of over 60 trees.) Ironically, plastic fields are often “watered” to lower their temperature. Unfortunately, this is only a short-term solution; elevated temperatures return within 20 minutes.
Recognizing the heat problem, plastic turf manufacturers are now marketing several “fixes” which try to mimic the evaporative cooling provided naturally by grass. Unfortunately, this involves adding more synthetic materials to the infill, which they don’t specifically reveal. Studies by Penn State University into the heat dangers of artificial turf looked at several of these products, none of which were found to be effective. https://plantscience.psu.edu/research/centers/ssrc/research/synthetic-turf-surface-temperature
Some, akin to kitty litter, are designed to retain moisture which is first added by watering the product. The added water is then released slowly over the course of the day. But what is it? Industry literature on evaporative cooling suggests it could be acrylic polymer crystals or polyvinyl acetate. https://www.ishn.com/articles/104118-evaporative-cooling-draws-heat-from-your-body, https://www.tcoolturf.com/about-tcool Addition of these chemicals would render the “beneficial” effect of choosing an “organic” infill moot. Maret claims its plastic turf will address the heat issue, but it has so far not informed the neighborhood which variety of plastic turf it proposes to introduce to the ECC fields.
