The use of rubber crumb has caused concern for both health and environmental reasons.
Paul Fennessy IN 2016, every parent of a boy at Ajax’s De Toekomst Academy in Amsterdam received a letter from the club.
However, Dutch public broadcaster NPO’s 2016 documentary uncovered serious flaws in the original research. One of the especially concerning allegations surrounding rubber crumb, defined as being “derived from end-of-life tyres and is the smallest and highest end use of recycled rubber,” is that carcinogens in the rubber can cause cancer.Nikolaj Magne Larsen, the CEO of Re-Match Netherlands, a turf recycling company, has noted how the country has “the highest square meters of artificial turf per inhabitant in the world.
Months before the Zembla documentary, findings recorded in the US by the University of Washington also suggested a possible connection between the use of artificial pitches and cancer.One of the authors was Amy Griffin, a former USA international, who found that 200 athletes who used artificial surfaces regularly had developed forms of cancer.
Lewis Maguire, a promising young goalkeeper from Darlington who had trials at Leeds United, passed away at the age of 20 from Hodgkin lymphoma. In 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency published a report by Atlantic Technological University and University College Dublin highlighting how artificial grass, such as those used on football pitches, can contaminate the environment.The study outlines how microplastics can escape these pitches and end up directly or via wastewater in local waterways.
Nash understands why there might be pushback against talk of either banning or substantially changing artificial pitches, particularly if “you’re part of a parish and you’ve saved for five or six years” to get them installed. Previously, she had been alarmed to read about Lewis Maguire’s story and felt compelled to protest this action.
The European Commission has proposed a ban, which would prevent microplastics from being added to sports fields, cosmetics and cleaning products owing to their negative environmental impact. An initial six-year transition period was set but has since been extended and September 2031 is the current deadline.
Nevertheless, they recommended that people take “basic hygiene measures after playing on artificial turf” to counteract “some uncertainties that would warrant further investigation”. Kelly believes the ban should not be enforced in 2031 “if there aren’t clear guidelines, clear alternatives. Because what are you going to do if a club cannot alter it, in the meantime, just stop the functioning of the club? And that is why I think research is so important.
Yet there is frustration on both sides. In reaction to criticism, the Commission revised its proposal to include a longer transition period for the pitches — extending it from six to eight years. EU institution European Chemicals Agency has warned of the health risks associated with artificial pitches. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo
Furthermore, there is concern over what to do with the leftover recycled tyres if the ban is enacted. Nonetheless, the Commission has backed research programmes to support the industry in finding “more sustainable solutions.”There are up to 2,500 artificial pitches, with GAA, rugby, hockey and soccer among the sports set to be impacted.
European authorities’ reservations have seemingly not been shared across the water — in 2021, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £50 million in funding for 185 new artificial football pitches.
Cancer Dilemma Environment Plastic Pitches Roelof Bosma Viv Mitchell
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