Getting the lead out of artificial turf
Print- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
12 Comments
- •
Favorite- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
I remember the first time I stepped on artificial grass. It was a big letdown.
Back in the early 1970s, I had seen artificial turf on TV and heard from the announcers about how it made athletes run faster.
So after one University of Texas football game at Austin’s Memorial Stadium, I crept on the field and tried a quick 40-yard dash.
The announcers lied.
Still, artificial turf revolutionized football and baseball.
I recall the critics of artificial turf during its infancy said it was just a fad. Many of them probably said this while wearing leisure suits.
But almost half a century later, artificial turf is still here and appears to be here to stay.
A history lesson
Some incorrectly believe that the first synthetic playing surface was laid at the Astrodome in 1966. I was among those people until yesterday when I Googled “history of artifical turf.” I was then asked by Google if I meant “history of artificial turf.”
Know-it-all Google.
Anyway, I learned that in 1964, a synthetic turf called “Chemgrass” was installed at Moses Brown School in Providence, R.I.
Moses Brown School is a private school named after Quaker abolitionist Moses Brown. It has an impressive Web site, but nowhere can I find that the school’s greatest contribution to mankind is artificial turf.
After Judge Roy Hofheinz found out that real grass wouldn’t grow indoors, he called the Chemgrass people to come put their turf down in the Astrodome.
In a very smart move, Hofheinz, or someone else, renamed Chemgrass to AstroTurf.
Decline of artificial turf
Artificial turf took a hit in the 1990s when most baseball stadiums went back to natural grass and the NFL Players Association began complaining about how AstroTurf and other synthetic surfaces were causing a rise in career-ending injuries.
They argued that the artificial surface provided too much traction and was the primary reason for serious knee injuries.
As a result, many of the manufacturers of synthetic turf went back to their laboratories to make their product safer and also save their livelihoods.
One company, Hellas Construction out of Austin, saw it as an opportunity to provide customers a better product and has become one of the synthetic turf leaders in the country.
Hellas’ RealGrass Pro was installed at Texas Stadium six years ago and Cowboys players have given it four-star ratings.
Hellas installed the turf on 24 fields in 2007, according to spokesperson Annika Lundmark, and will have at least 40 fields installed by the end of 2008.
One of those fields is at our own Memorial Stadium.
“It’s in incredible demand,” Lundmark said Tuesday. “We’ve had tremendous success with this turf in Texas.”
Hellas’ success comes despite another setback suffered by the artificial turf industry.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services claims it has performed laboratory tests that prove potentially harmful lead dust from artificial turf fibers can be ingested and absorbed into the body.
“These test results show there is reason for concern about the potential for lead exposure from artificial turf fields that contain lead,” DHSS Commissioner Heather Howard said in a news release last month.
One of the artificial turfs reportedly to have contained potentially harmful lead is FieldTurf, which was the previous surface at Victoria’s Memorial Stadium.
Lundmark insisted there is no lead in the RealGrass Pro turf. She even e-mailed the Advocate written statements from the manufacturers declaring their polyethylene and polypropylene artificial products are “Heavy Metal Free.”
Victoria school district athletic director Mickey Finley said that a lead-free turf was one of the requirements for Memorial Stadium’s new surface.
“We wanted to make sure of that,” he said. “When all this came out, we were already going to replace the old turf anyway.”
Durable surface
Lundmark said the new turf at Memorial Stadium should last “8 to 10 years.”
“It all depends on traffic,” she said. “Some fields still look good after 12 years.”
VISD is spending more than $300,000 for the new turf. Finley is confident that the playing surface will bring in more playoff games to Memorial Stadium, which in turn will put more money into the city’s pockets over the next decade or so.
That would make it a very worthwhile investment and quite possibly change my opinion about the phony grass.
But like it or not, it certainly looks like artificial turf is here to stay. It’s going to be around for a long, long time, maybe even long enough to see leisure suits come back into style.
Coy Slavik is the sports editor of the Victoria Advocate. Contact him at 361-574-1206 or by e-mail at cslavik@vicad.com.
-
Print
- •
-
Share
- Share this item
-
Grab the link
Copy and paste the link:
- Blog about it
- Close
- •
-
12 Comments
- •
- Favorite
- •
-
Report error
-
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
- Close
-
- •
Comments
In light of the recent press surrounding lead and artificial turf, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) took it upon themselves to conduct thorough testing of several artificial turf fields. After carefully examining the results, CPSC spokeswoman Julie Vallese said parents should not be concerned about harmful levels of lead in artificial turf and that our message is: go out and play. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/2008-0...
In addition, we at FieldTurf have compiled a comprehensive review of the facts which confirm the results presented by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and validate the safety of the FieldTurf artificial turf system. I urge you to review them at http://www.fieldturf.com/leadissues/
Sincerely,
Sean Adelsohn
July 30, 2008 at 10:09 a.m.FieldTurf
In light of the recent press surrounding lead and artificial turf, we at FieldTurf have compiled a comprehensive review of the facts which confirm the safety of the FieldTurf artificial turf system. I urge you to review them at http://www.fieldturf.com/leadissues/
July 25, 2008 at 2:17 p.m.Sincerely,
Sean Adelsohn
FieldTurf
As a concerned parent and someone who has been playing on the FieldTurf product for years, I must say I am rather disappointed in the media with regards to their approach on artificial turf and this lead issue. It is clear that these falsehoods have been published without the facts. The fact of the matter is, that there is lead in some capacity in almost everything that contains color or dyes. In fact, most of the toys that I have in my basement probably have some traces of lead in them. The main issue is in relation to the leaching. Despite my background in chemistry, you dont need to be a chemist to understand that if the lead traces or whatever else they claim to be within the field does not leach, then there is absolutely nothing to worry about. And from someone who knows, whatever is in the field or fake blades of grass, isnt coming out under natural circumstances. It would take a laboratory, a controlled environment and an extreme and unnatural temperature to release and break down any of the compounds or chemicals that were contained in the product. These FieldTurf fields have not only given myself and my children the opportunity to play sports on a safe and consistent surface year round, but they have helped save our community hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes that would have otherwise been spent on maintaining natural grass fields. If you really want to talk about hazardous, then we should focus on the pesticides that our kids play in on a regular basis on most of the natural grass fields. I am all about the environment, I even drive a hybrid car, but in all truth, FieldTurf, as an artificial turf product, probably does ten times more for the overall good of the planet than plain old natural grass fields do. I am going on record as an educated and informed parent and athlete in saying that there is absolutely nothing to worry about with regards to artificial turf, and that with all the demand for sports, we would all do better to have more of these fields available too.
July 14, 2008 at 9:31 a.m.Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee I think I'm entitled to them.
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth!
That's hardly fair. Coach Finley left Cuero on his own for a 5A school YEARS ago. Athletics is an important part of School. Some people will never get it. Their mommies would never let them play any rough games. They had to go home after school, clean the house and play with their dolls. They grow-up and become grumpy old men. Some become hair dressers.
July 10, 2008 at 12:29 a.m.Do you really want an answer? It's because at VISD, the tail wags the dog. They act like Bob Moore and Mickey Finley are the second coming, when they are really just Cuero throwaways. Be sure to vote in the next school board election!
July 9, 2008 at 10:12 p.m.$300,000 for artificial turf!! Are you effing kidding me? Why doesn't the school district spend that money on books or actual educational programs. Make an investment in these kids that doesn't revolve around athletics, because most of these young kids won't play anymore after they graduate.
July 9, 2008 at 9:56 p.m.Actually $300,000 sounds like a bargain to me. A grass turf field (even low maintenance bermuda grass) would take a crew of several people to keep it in the same shape as the artificial turf. Plus, equipment, chemicals, water, etc. You have to remember that the Memorial stadium field is also used for soccer, band marching contests, football games of all grade levels, as well as out of town team playoffs. If we went back to grass, no one but the varsity teams would be allowed on the field during a week we had rain. It would tear up the field. With the artificial turf, the field can pretty much be used 7 days a week. It just has to be repainted. My guess would be when all is said an done, with the amount of use that Memorial stadium gets during the football season alone, it saves more money to have the artificial turf. Increased injuries....now that may be a different argument...
July 9, 2008 at 7:43 a.m.Yes sir! It's big money. There are many small towns that want to come play in the "big city." Big Road trip to Victoria!!
July 9, 2008 at 1:03 a.m.Bundy, you are NOT the only one concerned about this new football field turf. What is wrong with GRASS!?!?!? Do you know how many times you can mow a grass field for THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS? It's knee friendly, self-replacing, and doesn't contain lead. I don't have kids in VISD, so I'm sorta not interested in a new, state-of-the-art playing surface for the football field paid for by tax dollars. The administration says it'll bring more playoff games to Victoria. How many bi-district and regional games will it take to pay off three hundred thousand dollars?
July 8, 2008 at 8:07 p.m.Am I the only person that is bothered by this latest waste of money by VISD? $300,000???? Are you kidding me? Our last field only lasted 9 seasons, now we go back with something equally as expensive, and with the same short lifespan? VISD is completely out of control.
July 8, 2008 at 7:29 p.m.Finley keeps talking about all of these injuries that the old turf was causing, but where is the evidence? How many of those injuries can be directly attributed to the playing surface?
Let's see...at 10 years' use, 2 wins per year, that's $15,000 per win. Is everyone else comfortable with that level of commitment? I don't see what is wrong with grass. Most of the colleges in Texas have gone back to it, so why is it not good enough for our boys?
Someone needs to reign in the current administration and board at VISD. This latest boondoggle is simply a slap in the face to all of us who pay taxes.