Stop the Artificial Turf at Heather

"The Best Article Yet"

2008-01-30T21:15:00.000-08:00

Here's an article that was forwarded to me that I think does the best job of summarizing all the problems with artificial turf. Click Here

Home Field Advantage? Team that plays on turf has 10 players infected with MRSA

2008-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

MRSA is a serious infection that is linked to artificial turf. You may have heard of MRSA called a staph infection. In the popular press it gets called "flesh eating bacteria." In the United States, MRSA kills more people than AIDS. It's a serious problem.

Click Here

Turf linked to Fatal MRSA Infection

2008-01-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

There is increasing evidence that turf burns are more likely to lead to methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections. MSRA is a drug resistant disease which can be rapidly fatal. A high school student in Texas died from turf burns in December. The article discusses this. It also notes that 18% of Texas fields are artificial turf, and its rate of MSRA infections is 16 times the national average.

Click Here

The New York State Department of Health, in an advisory to schools, noted that artificial turf is a risk factor for MSRA because of the type of abrasions if causes.

http://www.wswheboces.org/health_advisory.pdf

The New England Journal of Medicine had an article on this issue in 2005.

http://content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=8022

Rearch concluded that the MRSA infections among the St. Louis Rams in 2003 were likely spread among players on as well as off the field through rough play, shared towels, whirlpools, and weights.

Researchers blamed "turf burns" or areas of skin rendered raw by a hard fall on artificial turf as both the source and means of spreading the bacteria. (The Rams previously played on an older-model AstroTurf field, which did not have a rubber/sand infill system.)

"These abrasions were usually left uncovered, and when combined with frequent skin-to-skin contact throughout the football season, probably constituted both the source and the vehicle for transmission," wrote researcher Sophia V. Kazakova, MD, MPH, PhD, of the CDC, and colleagues in the Feb. 3 issue.

The report went on to say that "all of the infections occurred at the site of a turf burn and rapidly progressed to large abscesses 5 to 7 centimeters in diameter that required surgery to drain."

News articles and studies about the problems with artificial turf

2007-10-30T21:13:00.000-07:00

The evidence that artificial turf has problems is strong and growing. But don't take my word for here. Check out these sources:

The New York Times article on increasing concerns about the safety of artificial turf: Click Here

A University of Chicago Study linking turf burns with methicillin-resistant staph infections among football players: Click Here

A Bringham Young Study comparing surface temperatures shows artificial turf as 20 degrees hotter than grass on average, with significant heat spikes on hot days: Click Here

A bill in the state legislature to enforce a moratorium on new turf fields:
Click Here

An Op-Ed piece in the New York Times: Click Here

A Study on the Toxins found in artificial turf:
Click Here

Heat exposure is a greater threat for small children, and turf is really hot. Read what the American Academy of Pediatrics has to say: Click Here

Irony: During a drought, the Duke Field Hockey Team waters their turf before all games and practices. It makes it safer. Click Here

A recent New York study showing that even older fields exceed New York Department of Environmental Conservation limits for chemicals: Click Here

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