NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2008
Release #08-348
CPSC Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contacts: (301) 504-7908
CPSC Staff Finds Synthetic Turf Fields OK to Install, OK to Play On
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff today released its evaluation (pdf) of various synthetic athletic fields. The evaluation concludes that young children are not at risk from exposure to lead in these fields.
CPSC staff evaluation showed that newer fields had no lead or generally had the lowest lead levels. Although small amounts of lead were detected on the surface of some older fields, none of these tested fields released amounts of lead that would be harmful to children.
Lead is present in the pigments of some synthetic turf products to give the turf its various colors. Staff recognizes that some conditions such as age, weathering, exposure to sunlight, and wear and tear might change the amount of lead that could be released from the turf. As turf is used during athletics or play and exposed over time to sunlight, heat and other weather conditions, the surface of the turf may start to become worn and small particles of the lead-containing synthetic grass fibers might be released. The staff considered in the evaluation that particles on a child’s hand transferred to his/her mouth would be the most likely route of exposure and determined young children would not be at risk.
Although this evaluation found no harmful lead levels, CPSC staff is asking that voluntary standards be developed for synthetic turf to preclude the use of lead in future products. This action is being taken proactively to address any future production of synthetic turf and to set a standard for any new entrants to the market to follow.
As an overall guideline, CPSC staff recommends young children wash their hands after playing outside, especially before eating.
A Video News Release will feature b-roll of synthetic turf in use, on-site and laboratory testing, and soundbites in English and Spanish.
Video Feed Satellite Coordinates
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
2:30 PM – 3:00PM ET
Galaxy 25
Transponder 13
C-Band
Downlink Freq: 3960V
Thursday, July 31, 2008
10:30 AM – 11:00AM ET
Galaxy 3
Transponder 21
C-Band
Downlink Freq: 4120H
For Technical Information, DURING FEED ONLY, contact Daniel Conboy at (800) 920-6397 x 221.
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Send the link for this page to a friend! The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $800 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work to ensure the safety of consumer products – such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals – contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.
To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC’s hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC’s teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC’s web site at www.cpsc.gov. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC’s Web site at www.cpsc.gov.
