Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Synthetic turf study said to be dangerously deceptive

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today called on the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to immediately remove and revise a report on its website that may dangerously and deceptively mislead citizens into believing that artificial turf has been proven safe.Blumenthal said the CPSC relied on a grossly inadequate and badly flawed study in declaring synthetic turf safe to install and play on -- focusing narrowly and insufficiently on lead, while failing to examine several other possible chemicals and concerns. In a letter to CPSC Acting Chairman Nancy Ann Nord, Blumenthal said the CPSC’s claims -- based on such a “crudely cursory study” -- may dangerously deceive municipal and state leaders nationwide about the safety of synthetic turf.For the sake of public health and safety, Blumenthal said the CPSC has a moral and possibly legal obligation to immediately remove and revise its synthetic turf report from its website.“This report and release are as deceptive as some of the advertising and marketing of consumer products prosecuted by the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general,” Blumenthal said.“There is a clear and present danger that municipal and state decision makers -- as well as parents and citizens -- will rely on this unconscionably deficient report. It is replete with unsound scientific methodology and conclusions, and unreliable findings. It may lead to unsupportable and unwise commitments by towns and cities or their boards of education to build or replace athletic fields. Click here.