The Children's Committee of the Connecticut Legislature heard testimony this week on a bill to ban artificial crumb rubber turf from municipal and public school playgrounds in the state.
Crumb rubber is partly made up of recycled scrap tires. Some environmental advocates and parents are concerned that exposure to the chemicals found in crumb rubber could pose health risks. These risks include cancer, allergic reactions, and skin, eye, and respiratory irritation.
Ann Catino, a Hartford environmental lawyer, testified before the committee. Catino said studies have been done in different states, and published in peer-reviewed journals.
"They've all looked at this, and the conclusions that they've reached is that there is no correlation between crumb rubber and health risk. If any, it is negligible," she said.
Lew Birch, Connecticut Program Director of the Citizens' Campaign for the Environment, testified that there is evidence that chemicals in crumb rubber are harmful.
"There is, in fact, a growing body of science that tells us that the crumb rubber contained in artificial turf and in playground mulch is toxic," he said. "It contains a wide range of known and potential human carcinogens."
Last week, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency announced a coordinated plan with the Centers for Disease Control and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study the possible environmental health risks to humans from exposure to crumb rubber turf. They plan to release their findings at the end of this year.
