Life After Crumb Rubber

The following is by Jackie Lombardo, member of the Sierra Club Toxics Committee

“We know older turf products contain toxic chemicals associated with asthma, learning disabilities, and cancer. Saying that they are safe because they don’t contain lead is like saying cigarettes are safe because they don’t contain lead. There are many other chemicals that are in this synthetic grass and we don’t know what the effects are going to be not only on children’s health, but also what the effects are on the ground water as well. The Sierra Club understands people’s enthusiasm for a new product that may allow more playing time for children. But with the financial crisis that we are in, [county supervisors] just handed over a quarter of a million dollars of taxpayers’ money without looking into potential problems down the road: problems with water, problems with soil, and potential problems for kids’ health.”

Source: Chiara Canzi, “Turf v. grass: Have county schools rushed to judgment on the safety of synthetic turf?,” in Charlottesville News and Arts, January 13, 2009, available at
http://c-ville.com/index.php?cat=121304062461064&ShowArticle_ID=11801201093638869

History

Following a great fundraising campaign by the PTA, a new playground was installed at the Friday Harbor Elementary School in August of 2008. For many parents, their first exposure to Crumb Rubber was at the beginning of the school year that September. Many people had strong, immediate, negative reactions to broken chunks of tires as underlayment to the playground and took their concerns to the first PTA meeting that fall. Soon the School Board stepped in and took responsibility for the situation. At it's September meeting, the School Board voted to accept the new playground and take no further action. The members of the community who were dissatisfied with the Crumb Rubber organised with a campaign of letter writing and created a petition. Many letters were submitted to the local on-line and print media and some limited coverage was given to the issue. A complaint was filed with the Office of Civil Rights over non-compliance of the Crumb Rubber with the Americans with Disabilities Act. At the October School Board meeting, about 50 people attended and presented a petition with 275 signatures requesting the removal of the Crumb Rubber. A couple weeks later, the School Board authorized the formation of a committee to replace the Crumb Rubber with the stipulation that it do so with the goal of no net cost to the District.This committee worked through the winter, fundraising, organizing community support and soothing dissent. During the first two weekends of March, the Crumb Rubber was removed and replaced with Engineered Wood Fiber. Over $7000 was raised within the community, more than 60 people turned out for the work parties and in the end there was no net cost to the District.

Life After Crumb Rubber

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