Artificial Turf and Natural Turf Resource Information

http://www.saratogasod.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/227-ArtificialTurfBooklet.pdf Data and research indicate that Synthetic Turf:poses health and safety issues for usersis made of plastic and therefore an environmental concernis not cost-effective compared to natural turf alternatives

Discussion of Artificial Turf in Somerville

Great article in the Somerville Times about artificial turf http://www.thesomervilletimes.com/archives/59844

Somerville Neighborhood News piece about artificial turf: www.scatvsomerville.org/snn/artificial-turf-brings-risks-challenges

Women's World Cup

This may have been the last Women's World Cup on Artificial Turf http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Turf+Women+World+have+been+done+proposition/11190463/story.html

Athletes express concerns over safety at the Women's World Cup http://sports.yahoo.com/news/there-s-nothing-fake-about-issues-with-artificial-turf-at-women-s-world-cup-200746963.html

Top Women's Soccer player describes playing World Cup on artificial turf as "Nightmare" www.nbcnews.com/news/sports/us-soccer-star-abby-wambach-playing-turf-nightmare-n371906

Women's World Cup players sue FIFA to play on Natural Grasshttp://mashable.com/2015/05/28/fifa-scandal-womens-soccer/

Other top athletes agree: Grass is Safer

A study of more than 2600 NFL games found that ACL tears are 67% more likely to occur on Artificial Turf than NaturalGrass. We should  make the safe choice for #Somerville kids.http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11868149/sydney-leroux-explains-why-turf-terrible-soccer-players Major League Baseball says No to Artificial Turf in this LATimes article. "Good riddance," says Hall of Fame slugger Andre Dawson. "Personally, I just wish it would have been gone a long time ago."

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/11/sports/la-sp-0912-baseball-astro-turf-20130912

Artificial Turf doesn't belong in Baseball says Baseball Essential. "It has come quite clear around MLB that artificial turf is not only an unattractive aspect of the game, but also hazardous to the safety of players" http://www.baseballessential.com/news/2014/12/21/why-astro-turf-no-longer-belongs-in-baseball/

National Football League Players still overwhelmingly prefer natural grass, citing safety concerns, in annual survey.http://landscapemanagement.net/nfl-players-say-grass-still-best/

High Co$t of Artificial Turf

Forbes magazine says ""natural grass sports fields are a bargain compared to artificial turf due to the huge costs taxpayers get stuck with to maintain and replace artificial fields after their warranties expire" http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian/2014/10/22/buyers-remorse-surfacing-over-artificial-turf-fields/

Cost comparison white paper by an industry site. Includes field maintenance costs.http://www.texasmultichem.com/blog/?tag=White+Paper

Facts about Artificial Turf and Natural Grass Playing Fields

Improved cognitive development among school children link to time spent on green space (natural grass, trees) in recent Spanish study. http://www.psmag.com/health-and-behavior/green-spaces-linked-to-kids-cognitive-development

With proper drainage, you can play on Natural Grass after a rain. http://growinggreengrass.net/2015/06/30/rain-rain-rain-play-through-on-natural-grass/ This is a beginner's guide to choosing the type of turf your community needs. Contains a side-by-side cost comparison for synthetic vs natural turf. www.redhenturf.com/pdfs/TheTruthAboutArtificialTurf.pdf A comparison between Artificial Turf and Natural Turf: cost, environmental impact, from the University of Arkansas. Additionally, statistics about surveyed NFL players' preferences for natural turf: http://turf.uark.edu/turfhelp/archives/021109.html

Fact Sheet about Synthetic Turf: "Although the desire to improve access to sports fields is clearly well-intentioned, the risks that accompany synthetic turf need to be carefully considered." http://www.njwec.org/PDF/Factsheets/fact-artificialterf.pdf Did you know that Artificial turf fields require as much maintenance as natural turf fields? http://read.dmtmag.com/i/86038-october-2012/8

Safety Concerns about Artificial Turf

Yale University study shows crumb rubber infill used in artificial turf fields contains proven carcinogen. http://www.wkyc.com/story/news/investigations/2015/06/30/artifical-turf-rubber-toxic-cancer-causing-children/29524033/

Crumb rubber and rubber playground is flammable and toxic. Learn more.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEFKHuWLgx4&feature=relmfu Scientific study about Artificial Turf includes recommendations to limit exposure to Artificial Turf and avoid during heat.http://www.ehhi.org/reports/turf/recs.shtml Incidents of non-Hodgkin lymphoma due to repeated exposure for our youngest soccer goalies playing on artificial turf: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/investigations/how-safe-artificial-turf-your-child-plays-n220166

http://www.safehealthyplayingfields.org/#!choosenature/cz4w

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2265067/

Communities & Organizations Discuss Artificial Turf

About communities pushing back on Artificial turf installation. The EPA reported that some of the components of crumb rubber are: acetone, arsenic, benzene, chromium, hologenated flame retardents, lead and mercury.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/09/toxic-turf_n_7218728.html Even in a drought, Californians find natural grass preferable to artificial turf http://www.slideshare.net/SFOceanEdge/beach-chalet-water-usage-analysis-6 Another community's discussion around a playing field installation: http://myedmondsnews.com/2015/05/verdant-commissioner-promises-to-explore-artificial-turf-funding-options-for-woodway-fields-project/

Recent article about parent concerns around artificial turf in the Boston area: http://wgbhnews.org/post/crumb-rubber-have-your-kids-been-exposed-cancer-risk

Information about synthetic turf in the Greater Boston area and resource articles: http://synturf.org/