QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

Image from  safehealthyplayingfields.org Note that this post focuses on crumb rubber infill, one of the most commonly used infills in artificial turf systems.  Fortunately, crumb rubber is NOT being considered a candidate for the infill of artificial turf used in LGUSD .  However, crumb rubber IS used at LGHS and likely in our town's Creekside Park where many of our Los Gatos kids play sports. Safe Healthy Playing Fields, Inc. questions whether letting kids play on artificial turf constitutes a human health experiment on kids. David R Brown Sc.D.  makes the case in this article that there is " A basis for concern and an urgent need for closer scrutiny". David is: a public health toxicologist Director of Public Health Toxicology for Environment and Human Health, Inc.  past Chief of Environmental Epidemiology and Occupational Health at Connecticut's Department of Health  past Deputy Director of The Public Health Practice Group of ATSDR at the National Centers for Disea

Image from ehhi.org's  synthetic turf report . Most synthetic turf fields are made of plastic grass infilled with shredded waste tires known as “crumb rubber.”   Environment & Human Health, Inc.   has produced this easily-digestible brochure on " 12 Reasons Why Synthetic Turf Fields Pose a Health Risk ".

Image from ehhi.org's synthetic turf report . There are a host of concerns with artificial turf systems that are filled with (those annoying black) crumbs from recycled rubber tires .  Early in the planning stages of landscape design, LGUSD wisely ruled out crumb rubber as a possible infill choice.  Perhaps we have LGUSD's landscape architect, Verde Design, to thank for this.  Verde Design's architect referred to the crumb rubber infill as carcinogenic at the 11/18/21 LGUSD board meeting.  (Curiously though, crumb rubber appears to be what is in installed at Los Gatos High School fields, projects Verde Design had a hand in.) 👏 👏 👏 While LGUSD appears to have dodged this bullet, issues with crumb rubber infill should be considered when the fields at Creekside and LGHS come due for renovation.   And if your child currently uses fields at  Creekside or LGHS   regularly, proceed with caution.  Watch this and then read on... In February 2016, the Federal Research Action Pla

Image from  forceofnatureclean.com In this educational seminar "Testing for Chemicals of Concern in Synthetic Turf" , David Teter ( the consultant LGUSD's landscape designer brought to the 11/8/21 LGUSD-hosted Town Hall to  assert the safety  of artificial turf ) concludes: "Organic infill products made from coconut fiber/peat and rice husks are inconsistent with regards to the leaching of heavy metals and SVOCs. Some of these organic infills leached more heavy metals (arsenic, cobalt, hexavalent chromium, lead, and nickel) and SVOCs than crumb rubber." LGUSD has eschewed crumb rubber in its proposed artificial turf system because of the widely-recognized concerns with it.  So how can LGUSD conclude plant-based infills are safe?