Mahwah's parents worry that playground tire mulching may be associated with cancer risk

MAHWAH – Are play surfaces made of recycled rubber tires safe?

No, says a group of parents who fear that the material is associated with the risk of cancer. The parents convinced school and municipal officials to take a closer look at their use of playground mulch and synthetic grass made from recycled rubber tires.

Parents want the tire mulch removed from the three elementary school playgrounds and replaced with wood chips at an estimated cost of $ 7,000 per playground. They also asked the Environmental Committee to participate in the Township's research on materials that would replace an aging artificial playground at Continental Soldier Park Park.

Mother Anne Powley, whose child attends George Washington Elementary, one of the schools in question, said her ability to leverage local cooperation was hampered by the lack of federal regulation of recycled tires. and the United States. these regulations should be based.

"The school district is not to blame for the rubber mulch," said Powley, who collected 537 signatures at a charge.org petition to replace the mulch. "They inherited a dangerous problem that is legal because of a loophole created by the Federal Law on Conservation and Reclamation of 1976."

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Dirty children

The parents' complaints have been piling up for several years, Powley said. They began as objections to the black residue that the tire mulch left on clothing and skin. The shoes, the pockets and the wrists of the pants also transported the pieces of mulch in the houses of the students.

While researching alternative floor coverings and their costs, Powley said the parents had begun to find information showing associations of tire mulch and surfaces with high cancer rates. For example, Connecticut has been trying for several years to pass a law prohibiting the use or purchase of artificial turf by municipal or state agencies.

These worries worsened when parents discovered that the school district's mulch provider, Rubbercycle LLC of Lakewood, had been sued by the Korean New Jersey Church in Englewood. School authorities have stated that Rubbercycle's tire mulch in 2013 was responsible for the contamination found in the ground of the playground in 2015.

The trial was dismissed on April 12, as Judge John O. Dwyer ruled that even though the school's environmental specialist had carried out soil soiling and shredding tests, "nothing in the record of facts indicates what health risks, if any, are potentially present. "

However, parents' concerns grew as township officials announced plans to replace the artificial turf field at Continental Soldiers Park.

"The parents came to see us," said Richard Wolf, chairman of the county's environment commission. "They have expressed some concerns because it has been published in the press, we do not know if it will work or not, but we will look at alternatives."

Neither organization acknowledged the concern over the safety of the current surfaces, but wanted to further investigate the issues of the parents.

"If, during our planning, we become aware of a gap in our compliance with environmental regulations or if we become aware of an imminent risk to student safety, the district will take immediate corrective action" said Michael Galow, administrator of the Board of Education, responsible for finance. and Chair of the Facilities Committee.

Little regulation

Powley said the solution is more complex than originally planned. Many studies of the impact of recycled tire products that cause such alarms are small, irregularly conducted, and have not yet produced the necessary guidance to create government regulations that require schools and municipal agencies are required to operate.

The Federal Resource Conservation and Salvage Act, 1976 authorizes the EPA to control hazardous waste, including used tires. Powley says RCRA exempts consumer products made from hazardous waste.

The first large-scale study on synthetic turf fields in the United States has just been completed thanks to the joint efforts of the federal EPA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States, and the United States. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and Consumer Product and Safety. Commission. The first part on Rubber Crumbs is currently being distributed for public comment.

The study estimates that 12,000 to 13,000 artificial grass sports fields are used in the country and 1,200 to 1,500 more are added each year.

However, the 2016 progress report of the study indicates that there are important "data gaps" in other studies that limit their viability in the evaluation. the impact of recycled tire products. For example, the report notes "few studies have been conducted to evaluate the potential exposure to natural grass playground chemicals." Without such studies, it is impossible to assess whether adverse health effects result from real or artificial turf exposure.

Neither the New Jersey Department of Health nor the New Jersey School Board Association are "aware of the regulations governing the use of rubber tire mulch in schoolyards." ".

White House Playground

Rubbercycle Vice President, Keith Sacks, speculates that the criticism of recycled tire products stems from the company's installation of a green-tinted tire mulch on the White House playground created for the two daughters of President Barack Obama in 2009.

"It sort of put the stamp of approval on the tire mulch, and that's when everyone started shooting," Sacks said. "Believe me, the White House did its research first."

Sacks says their company only uses what it calls tires "out of the rim", collected from dealers and auto repair centers, not tires already deposited in landfills. The tires are not treated, only shredders that reduce them to two-inch chips, and then smaller sizes, said Sacks.

Rubbercycle President Morris Hassan cited a 2015 report by company toxicologist Laura Green that revealed deficiencies in some of the most commonly shared reports linking tire mulching with Cancer.

For example, a list of sports coaches often cited at the University of Washington mentions 126 players who have developed cancer, of which 109 are football players. The coach asks if the incidents are the result of playing on artificial surfaces. Green points out that the list of coaches has not been the subject of a scientific study, making it impossible to determine the content of the surfaces on which the athletes were exposed.

The Washington State Department of Health, however, conducted its own study of football players and concluded that "currently available research on the health effects of artificial turf does not suggest that synthetic turf presents a significant risk. for public health ".

Powley admits that a combination of reports makes the analysis more difficult, but says his group "does not give up".

"We hope that the board of directors will do what is morally right, even if it is not mandatory," Powley said.

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