As thousands of soccer goalies across the U.S. are carrying out their daily battles with the tiny rubber crumbs that fill their hair, mouth, nose, nail beds and abrasions following games played on “crumb rubber” fields, environmental advocates are beginning to question whether the “crumbs” are more than just a messy annoyance.
The black bead-like particles that make up the artificial turf fields (butadiene rubber or “crumb rubber”) are made from synthetic fibers and old scrap tires, which are packed full of dangerous chemicals and carcinogens like benzene, carbon black and lead.
In recent years, several soccer goalies who have spent their educational and/or athletic careers diving into the crumb rubber fields have been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The influx of cancer diagnoses among soccer goalies has raised concerns over the safety of the synthetic fields.
According to an article published by NBC, associate head soccer coach for the University of Washington’s women soccer team Amy Griffin compiled a list of 38 young soccer players, 34 of which are goalies, who have been diagnosed with cancer. According to the article, a dozen of those players are in Seattle, and the others are spread across the nation.
While the list compiled by Griffin doesn’t have any scientific backing, it does raise concerns over a possible correlation between the cancer diagnoses and crumb rubber fields that blanket the country.
Griffin isn’t the only person to voice concerns over the safety of the artificial turfs and soccer fields aren’t the only culprits in question. In fact, environmental advocates are urging the Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety Commission to dig deeper into the safety of crumb rubber fields.
According to data collected by the Synthetic Turf Council, there are more than 11,000 synthetic turf fields in the U.S., most of which are made of crumb rubber. The same infill is also used in children’s playgrounds across the country — another very scary thought.
While there isn’t enough scientific data to prove that crumb rubber is a direct cause of cancer, what we do know is there has been an increase in cancer diagnoses among young soccer goalies in recent years. And, since more and more fields are being blanketed with the artificial turf made from old tires, safety advocates everywhere are questioning a link.
Since the material was reinvented in 2000, it has become increasingly popular. One of the major benefits of the material is that is provides cushioned impact to prevent serious injuries like concussions. It is also cheaper to maintain than grass.
