According to a report from Nathan Baca from WUSA9, environmental
scientist Jeff Gearhart collected blades of fake grass from sports fields at
D.C. public parks to see if they potentially contain harmful chemicals. His
lab, the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan, tested similar artificial
blades near Boston, and found those sports fields did contain otentially
harmful chemicals called PFAS.
“We don’t know the exact environmental fate of the PFAS
chemicals that we’re seeing in the synthetic turf,” Gearhart said.
“But we know broadly that PFAS chemistry has been associated with a wide
variety of health affects, including hormone disruption.”
PFAS stands for polyfluoroalkyl substances, often used as
stain guards and in other consumer products. The EPA’s advisory says anything
above 70 parts per trillion in drinking water can be hazardous to health, and
can cause birth defects and hormonal problems.
The Ecology Center’s tests in the Boston area found 190 to
300 parts per trillion in PFAS chemicals.
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