A government health organisation in the Netherlands has recently published a report, following an investigation triggered by fears over dangerous chemicals in the granules, confirming the safety of rubber crumbs in artificial turf fields used for sports.
The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment’s report has found that the health risk from playing on such fields, which are common throughout the Netherlands and elsewhere as low-maintenance alternatives to natural grass, is “virtually negligible”.
The report’s findings were welcomed by the Dutch soccer association, saying it gave clarity to sports clubs and players. Many clubs across the Netherlands had stopped playing on rubber crumb fields since a television program in October raised concerns about health risks.
“The uncertainly about playing soccer on synthetic grass with rubber crumb is gone,” the Royal Netherlands Football Association said in a statement. “Footballers, parents, clubs and the KNVB can move on. The signal is safe.”
Usually made from old car tyres, rubber crumbs give synthetic turf fields properties that are similar to real grass — they ensure the ball does not bounce too high and make the synthetic fields better suited for sliding tackles. But there are long-held fears that the chemicals in the shredded tyres include carcinogens that could find their way into players’ bodies.
The Dutch investigation tested 100 sports fields and studied available scientific literature. The organisation said it also will carefully study American research expected early next year into the fields, which have been in use in the US for longer than in the Netherlands.
According to the study, there were no indications in the available literature to show a link between playing sports on synthetic turf fields with an infill of rubber granulate and the incidence of leukemia and lymph node cancer. There is also no international research that has demonstrated this connection, it said.
It added that chemicals linked to causing such cancers are either not present in the rubber crumb or are present in very small amounts. Tests conducted for the study also showed that chemical substances in the crumb were released in very low quantities.
“This is because the substances are more or less ‘enclosed’ in the granulate, which means that the effect of these substances on human health is virtually negligible,” the report said.
Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem last month halted play on its rubber crumb-based training field because of health concerns, but recently said that “after the winter break, play will resume on the field.”