Turf wars consume town hall meeting
6 Mar, 2009 Athletic Turf NewsGREENWICH, CT — An "artificial turf" war consumed 90 minutes of a Board of Selectmen meeting here on March 5. The skirmish pitted what the Greenwich Citizen newspaper called "child health vigilantes" against factions advocating for more playing fields. On one side was a group of people concerned about the safety of synthetic turf sports fields, citing the presence of lead in their fibers; the heat that the fields retain on hot, sunny days; and possible carcinogins in the crumb rubber used as infill between the blades. On the other side were the advocates for synthetic fields.
Following the discussion, according to the newspaper, the selectmen agreed to set up an Artificial Turf Working Group to :
— review any new investments to acquire, develop and/or replace natural fields with new artificial fields with consideration to health, environmental, benefit and finance questions, and
— sample its current artificial turf fields and infill, using an independent testing laboratory and government accepted testing protocols, to evaluate the presence of and risk posed by chemicals of concern, and
— instruct that the Department of Health together with the Parks & Recreation Department monitor field temperatures, post appropriate advisories and establish temperature safety and field usage standards for all Town artificial turf fields, and
— consider life-cycle costs in the financial analysis of any artificial turf field acquisition decision, and
— obtain an opinion from counsel as to whether there is any additional liability to the town associated with the use of artificial turf.
Greenwich High School already has three synthetic turf sports fields, and the city has been considering another at a local park.
"Artificial turf wars break out in Town Hall," by Patricia McCormack, The Greenwich Citizen, March 5
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