the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, artificial turf, made with PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), known as “forever chemicals,” poses significant health risks due to its toxicity. PFAS can permeate the body through skin absorption, inhalation, ingestion, or open wounds, as reported by the Guardian.
A recent study examined PFAS levels on the skin of six-year-old soccer players and their coach before and after a game in California. The findings revealed an increase in PFOS, a hazardous PFAS compound, on three out of four participants, according to the news outlet.
Kyla Bennett, co-author of the study from the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility non-profit, expressed concern, stating, “In 2024, the last thing we should be doing is putting down acres of a plastic fossil fuel product… with chemicals that are going to get all over athletes’ skin, and into soil and water. It just boggles my mind that people are still considering using this stuff.”
The alarming aspect is the association of PFAS with severe health issues such as cancer, liver damage, reduced fertility, and increased asthma risk.
Last fall, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) raised alarm over players’ exposure to these chemicals in the 14 NFL stadiums utilizing artificial turf, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
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Add heat and PFAS laced sunscreen, about 25 hours a week for an entire summer. We are talking Ridgewood summer camp at Maple field.
Ridgewood had a very strong pro turf lobby that pushed very hard demanding turf for Vilage fields. I believe the Ridgewood baseball association was instrumental in the implementation.
Unfortunate.
Muller from RBSA stated publicly that if turf was dangerous why are companies still making it. How is that for logic. I guess he also doesn’t believe that cigarettes cause cancer.
Field envy following the turf installation at Glen Rock’s facility. 🍆
They are brainwashed that they think it’s safer to play on. Yes it looks nice, that’s it. Most kids don’t like to play on it. It’s much hotter than grass.
It may look nice while it is on the ground, but you are bringing crumb rubber and plasstic gasses home with you in your socks, underwear and shorts It is toxic and gross. These are ground up rubber tires with chemicals that they burn in the land fills because they cannot recycle it!!
You think this was dumb… It just got worse – they are doubling down with this stupidity:
https://www.tapinto.net/towns/ridgewood/sections/education/articles/construction-to-begin-on-elevated-athletic-field-at-ridgewood-high-school
RIDGEWOOD, NJ — After months of consternation and frustration, Ridgewood officials have finally engineered a solution for the village’s oft-flooded athletic fields. Construction will soon begin on Stilt Stadium, a playing field elevated 10-feet in the air on stilts, engineered by Stark Industries.
“We’re so thrilled to announce this exciting new venture,” commented Head of Ridgewood Applied Sciences Dr. Ivo Robotnik. “With this new technology, flooded fields will be a thing of the past. Additionally, with the structure’s impressive height, it’ll add an impressive and distinctive flavor to Ridgewood’s skyline.”
Being that is April Fools Day i’m going to guess that article is for the holiday.
April Fools!
a
April fools day article – says so at end
Every day is April
Fools day in regards to Taxpayers obligations are endless
Siobahn Whinograd has stated from her council position on the dais that said that eco turf is safe and that her son plays sports on many turf fields and he is fine. She was also quoted in TapInto saying that she does not share the belief that turf is hazardous to anyone’s health.
Consider the source. She’s the biggest asshole in Ridgewood at the moment. I wouldn’t believe a word, not a single word, of anything that woman says!
Can’t say I disagree with you and most people would also concur.
This group was also In favor of masks and shutdowns during COVID. They are also against fossil fuels and they support green energy alternatives. Glad you agree with their research.
“If we did the simple thing of adopting universal mask wearing, we would save nearly 63,000 lives directly from COVID. We likely would save tens of thousands more lives as we conserve health care for people who need it for “normal” emergency care.”
We know there is PFAS in turf and eco turf. Pam Perron said they are all fossil fuel products and that the vendors won’t guarantee the absence of the dangerous compounds, so why is Whino and Paul (a former enviro lawyer) doubling down on putting turf into the Schedler plan? There has to be a reason. One would be Paul’s banking on his re-election as Mayor and Whino apparently wants it for her pals in the soccer leagues. In my opinion, you always will have a special kind of stupid with these two who must have a private agenda.
What’s so scary is the money they are spending on these turf fields, can you imagine what it’s gonna cost down the road to replace them when they are all worn out. The villages spending every penny they receive in taxes and grants, and they are borrowing money on top of money, when is it going to stop. This is going to explode in the taxpayers face. How can people pay for all this, no wonder people that are retiring and moving out of the village
Just wait until they don’t have enough money in the budget to pay for this. Mark my words, the excuses are coming. Well, we need this and well we need that and taxes are going to go up again…just you wait and see.
PFAS in Artificial Turf Coats Players’ Skin
Dermal Uptake Little Examined Exposure Pathway for Toxic PFAS
Washington, DC — Soccer players and coaches on artificial turf pick up toxic PFAS on their skin, according to a study conducted by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). All brands of artificial turf tested contain PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in carpet grass fibers and these chemicals leach off these surfaces, even on brand new fields.
The preliminary study done by PEER found that the amount of PFAS on the skin in three out of four players or coaches increased after soccer games played on artificial turf. By contrast, similar increases in PFAS on the skin were not observed after games played on grass fields.
These findings are of concern because human exposures to PFAS are associated with cancer, birth defects, developmental and immune deficiencies, and a host of other impairments. These adverse health impacts are magnified in young children whose bodies are still growing. In addition, PFAS, called “forever chemicals” because they do not readily break down in the environment, can bioaccumulate in our blood and organs.
“Although this was a preliminary study, it raises red flags and calls for additional studies to determine what risk there is of dermal absorption of PFAS from artificial turf,” stated PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and lawyer formerly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), noting that players on artificial turf may be exposed to PFAS through inhalation, ingestion, and skin absorption. “It’s also important to note that knowledge of dermal uptake of PFAS is severely lacking, but it may be a significant exposure pathway.”
Currently, there are between 12,000 and 13,000 synthetic turf sports fields in the U.S., with more than a thousand new installations each year. In addition to some professional stadiums, artificial turf has also been installed in hundreds of schools, parks, and playgrounds.
“Besides the direct human exposure, PFAS leaching off these thousands of fields present threats to nearby surface and groundwater, some of which are sources of drinking water,” Bennett added, pointing out that the EPA has concluded that there is no safe level of the most common forms of PFAS in drinking water. “Our current embryonic state of regulation makes it difficult to trace the life cycle impacts of these highly toxic chemicals from production to disposal.”
The presence of PFAS in artificial turf is also fueling greater efforts to block or remove these surfaces in settings ranging from school grounds to professional sports arenas.
Look at the dermal study results
Read about dermal uptake of PFAS
See presence of PFAS in artificial turf “grass” blades
Examine inadequate current state of PFAS regulation
When people argue of natural grass over artificial and eco baesd turf. What may people do not realize is that synthetic turf requires the use of, disinfecting chemicals (pesticides). A synthetic turf field must be disinfected regularly, to remove disease-causing pathogens from body fluid spills such as blood, vomit, sweat and saliva. The use of these chemical pesticides can present their own health risks, whereas natural grass fields have the advantage of soil microbial activity, which helps to break down contaminants through natural processes. Additionally, skin abrasions (turf burns) are more common on synthetic turf fields and are typically larger in size, providing more opportunity for antibiotic resistant infections, including MRSA. Medical experts have found that staphylococci and other bacteria can survive for more than 3 months on polyethylene plastic, the material used in the manufacture of synthetic turf carpets and grass blades.
Synthetic turf is not a solution for the problem of chemical pesticides. The often-used argument that synthetic turf decreases the use of chemical pesticides wrongly assumes that these chemicals are
required for natural grass. They are not. In fact, organically maintained natural grass uses no chemical pesticides, and new technologies and
equipment make maintaining natural grass playing surfaces easier than ever before. These fields can stand up to heavy use and are completely safe for users, from young soccer players to high school football teams.
New technologies and equipment, is this the snake oil i have heard so much about? Can you provide me info as the current, and prior, natural grass fields were a mud pit about 1 month into a season. Brookside has never been usable even with the massive metal grates.
Whinograd says that she isn’t building a field, she is building a park when she talks about Schedler. Problem is that the proposal she is head cheerleader for along with her majority block cronies takes up the entire property and cover a super large field (have you seen the proposal?) with a giant plastic carpet essentially leaving little to no room for anything else. Do they care, absolutely not. Five hundred residents signed a petition against this over development. At the end of the day, it is not really a park but it sounds good and that is what they will tell SHPO. She says she hears the public and I guess if you are one of her sports pals, an apparently she has many, then she is doing this for you and the rest of the village can stay mum. If her goal was to unite the east side of Ridgewood with the rest of the town, she is way off base and this only seeks to further divide them.
Take revenge in the voting booth…
The RW artificial turf nightmare is almost over. It is evident that taxpayers have had enough. It will inevitably be taken out. Between more intense storms, fields being unusable, ongoing repair costs, growing environmental and health concerns it is time.
Has anyone revisited the savings that these artificial fields were supposed to provide over maintaining natural grass since it was installed?
These fake fields require maintenance too, almost as much as grass and is way more costly. It involves, raking, cleaning, repair and replacement, totalling up to hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars. Plus, Paul Vagianos said we don’t have the Yankee Stadium grounds crew so who is raking the turf and putting the disinfectant on it from the spit, sweat and toxic substances are are part of it to begin with. Also the infill, which is crumb rubber is toxic and they need to fluff it up and add more regularly to keep it even to avoid injuries.
The turf will add to the already contaminated public water system here. I’m shocked that there has been little public outcry or push for timely change to the water ? So maybe the toxicity isn’t a concern? Aside from the toxicity, however, turf is a concern with the increase in athletic injuries- specifically tendon tears like ACL and Achilles. So many players experiencing these injuries at a much higher rate and the “no give” makeup of turf has been a major potential reason, per what I have read and heard.
In lieu of all that , aesthetically it is very nice which is in line with what seems to get attention to detail in the town.
If you just do 1 search you will come up with a million reasons why your precious children, the ones you love so dearly and try to protect, should not be playing on this surface. Please do not let the village and the sports organizations con you into believing that this is in any way healthy. They will say outdoor recreation is so good for everyone, but playing on these toxic surface are becoming more and more hazardous. We have PFAS in the water for crying out loud. Do you need more toxic surfaces coming in contact with your skin or worse, ingested or breathing in airborn toxins?
Where will the sports groups be if your kids gets sick? It could show up years from now and we know that children’s immune systems are developing. SAY NO NOIW!
Research by the National Toxicology Program shows that high heat can cause chemicals to leach out of the crumb rubber base of synthetic turf, which is made of recycled tires. These leached chemicals are known to cause cell death in humans.
This mayor and majority council are the very same people that just a short time ago, had no issues letting all of Ridgewood’s children play on soil that may be toxic and contaminated based on soil that they knew was dumped and not tested and only now have to pay close to $40k of taxpayer monies because the NJDEP has now mandated that the soil be tested. With the exception of Lorraine Reynolds who opposed the construction and their proposals for this plan, you’ve got Vagianos, Weitz, Whinograd and Perron to thank for this. They were perfectly fine with getting that shovel into the ground to start developing the Schedler property and you would be none the wiser about any of this. The question is, are you okay with the way things are being done? You shouldn’t be. Are you okay with PFAS in the water that you are drinking and swimming in? Ridgewood taxes will keep going up and you are paying for the selfish mistakes that these people continue to make.
Please remember this when voting. These people do not deserve to be in charge of decisions for you.
Drain the swamp!