News

No lead found at Lum, Chatham fields “safe”

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

By MARIANNE IVERS
Independent Press

CHATHAM -- The recent news regarding lead has caused some parents to question their children's safety when using artificial turf field facilities. Chatham parents, officials said, can now put their worries behind them as no lead has been found on Lum Field.

Reports surfaced in early May that New Jersey health officials discovered lead, used in pigment to color some fields, is in some turf fibers. Fears that athletes could be exposed by inhaling or swallowing lead-laced fibers or "dust" kicked up by those playing on the fields prompted four towns to close their fields including Jersey City, Newark, Hoboken and the College of New Jersey in Ewing.

Other towns have begun limiting access to artificial turf fields by young children, who are most at risk from exposure to lead, which can cause brain damage and even death. In Montville, children younger than seven will not be permitted to play on two artificial turf fields that registered unsafe lead levels, pending further testing.

The Chathams have three turf fields including two school district fields at Cougar and Haas, as well as one installed at Lum Field, a cooperative effort between the two towns and the Chatham Athletic Foundation. All three fields were installed by the same turf manufacturing company. Officials on behalf of the School District of the Chathams reassured parents that both Cougar and Haas fields are polyethylene fields and are not the ones raised as a concern in these news reports.

"The information that we have from the Department of Consumer and Environmental Health Services indicates that there are different types of turf fields. The fields identified as containing high levels of lead are made of nylon fibers and a mix of nylon and other products, which were the ones that tested high for levels of lead," said Superintendent Jim O'Neill. "Most important for Chatham parents and residents to know is that the two fields in the school district are made of polyethylene."

Chatham Borough went a step further and tested the left -over Lum Field material.

Although the manufacturer has assured the borough officials that the material used for Lum is safe, the borough had all components of the field tested: fibers, backing and rubber infill. The tests yielded results that are "significantly under action level," Borough Engineer Vince DeNave said. The tests were done by EMSL Analytical.

The fibers, which mimic grass, had "undetectable" levels of lead, according to the tests. The backing read 1.2 mg/kg and the infill 13 mg/kg. The state limit for lead on turf field is 400 mg/kg. The Montville turf field that caused a safety concern, especially for young children, had a lead reading of 852 mg/kg. Fields associated with higher levels of lead are usually made of nylon and nylon mix.

Lum Field turfing was completed last year as the first interlocal agreement among the Chatham Athletic Foundation (CAF), Chatham Borough and Chatham Township. The field is used for football, field hockey, soccer, softball, baseball and lacrosse.

© 2011 Chatham Athletic Foundation

Email: theboard@chathamathleticfoundation.org