Save Highlands Park: Lead in turf shuts East Harlem field

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Lead in turf shuts East Harlem field

12/22 An East Harlem soccer field has been closed after elevated lead levels were detected in the synthetic turf installed five years ago, park officials said Monday. While the source of the lead contamination has not been confirmed, park advocates suggest the lead contamination may be due to the city's use of a type of synthetic turf that includes a cushion of pulverized tires, known as crumb-rubber infill. (NY Daily News, click here)

Why do we need to save Highlands Park?

We urgently need your help. San Carlos' City Council voted Monday, April 14, 2008, to tear out the beautiful grass field and install synthetic turf at Highlands Park. Our beautiful community park is the wrong place to put a synthetic field.

We need people from across San Carlos to voice their opposition, not just Highlands neighbors. Could you and your friends and neighbors help us?

Synthetic turf at Highlands is not just an irresponsible waste of the city's money, it is also an environmental and children's health hazard that will cost us far more and destroy our beautiful parkland.

We can not give up yet on this issue for many reasons, some you may know and some that are new:

The cost of the synthetic field, in excess of $1.6 million, is enough to put quality grass fields at Highlands, Crestview and Heather School field (and all could be full-sized), a more meaningful solution to our fields shortage;
Barry Weiss' cost comparisons do not include the replacement costs for synthetic at the end of its 8-10 year life, nor the disposal costs for the old synthetic material; Barry Weiss' cost estimates inflate the installation and maintenence costs for grass, and underestimate the maintenance costs for synthetic, which must be frequently raked, disinfected with powerful chemicals, and even watered to keep the heat down.
Newer grass species are extremely drought tolerant, and there are now irrigation systems that only water when it is needed, not mid-day as the Park and Rec Department is currently doing;
San Carlos residents voiced preferences in the recent Park and Rec survey for many improvements and additions to our recreational options here, including better bathrooms, more trails, a community pool and so on. Only 2% mentioned synthetic turf.
It is squandering precious resources to take a multi-use park like Highlands and install a surface that is only good for one sport - soccer - that already takes precedence over all other park uses.
Grass produces oxygen, is cooling and psychologically soothing. It absorbs rain and replenishes the aquifir.
Synthetic turf can heat up to 140 degrees F on a mild sunny day in the 70s. It drains toxic chemicals from the tire rubber and plastic into the Bay. It is a known breeding ground for staph and other antibiotic-resistant bacteria known as MRSA.
The Highlands neighborhood streets can not support doubled usage over longer hours. This is not a commercial or retail area, it consists of homes with many small children and elderly people alike.

AND THERE IS NEW INFORMATION: New Jersey State officials closed two synthetic fields after authorities found the lead level in the turf was 10 times the amount of lead allowed in soil. Lead causes brain damage and other illnesses, particularly in children.
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has begun investigating potential hazards from lead in synthetic fields across the country.
Polycarbonate plastics, previously believed to be safe and used even in baby bottles, are now found to be negatively affecting children's growth and development.
We know that recycled tire rubber, used in synthetic fields' "infill," is loaded with heavy metals and other toxins. This too is a potential target for the CPSC to study, possibly leading to a field that is permanently closed and useless to soccer players and other sports and recreation as well.
Highlands is particularly ill-suited for this material, as it is adjacent to a toddler playground and many young children and their families enjoy multiple sports and unstructured play there.

Does the City of San Carlos really want to take on the liability for damage to children's health? Should our city install a material that will potentially be banned in the near future - shutting down the park to all uses? Where, then, will we find the funds to remove it and replace it again with grass? Where will we find the funds to dispose of the 250 tons of toxic waste?
This blog is a collection of research on Highlands Park and the risks and costs of synthetic turf.

Save Highlands Park

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Lead in turf shuts East Harlem field

Links to More Information on Synthetic Turf

Things You Can Do

Why do we need to save Highlands Park?

Heather School Parents rejected synthetic turf