CMA 2017 #74 · Agenda item attachment · Mar 27 2017

March 22, 2017 To: Louis DePasquale City Manager From: Owen O’ Riordan, Commissioner, DPW Claude-Alix Jacobs, Chief Public Health Officer Ellen Semonoff, Assistant City Manager for Human Services Iram Farooq, Assistant City Manager for Community Development Re: POR-246 2016 Crumb Rubber Turf A number of athletic and playing fields in Cambridge use artificial turf with crumb rubber filling. The material provides a suitable surface for athletic and recreational activities, allows for more intensive use, and is more practical to maintain when compared to natural grass fields. In recent years, there have been increasing concerns about health risks associated with crumb rubber artificial turf fields. The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD) conducted a risk assessment in 2015, a copy of which is attached, to evaluate exposure to artificial turf using data available in the scientific literature and from studies conducted to date by federal and state agencies, including EPA, CT Department of Public Health, CA Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and the NYC Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. The CPHD risk assessment was conducted for the purposes of evaluating fields at Danehy Park used by older children. Therefore, CPHD assumed children would be exposed via the inhalation route (breathing air over the field) through normal outdoor play. The evaluation concluded no unusual health risk was likely for that scenario. Risk assessments rely on making structured assumptions based on standardized EPA methods and using data to evaluate probable exposure scenarios. The CPHD risk assessment was conducted to evaluate potential worst-case exposure scenarios for children through the inhalation route; hence, risk to young children who may be exposed through hand-to-mouth activity or ingesting crumb rubber particles from the field was not assessed. In addition, data was available for only one type of artificial turf substrate (i.e., recycled crumb rubber infill made from old tires). Newer types of artificial turf use virgin materials and contain fewer chemicals and no heavy metals. However, there is little available data to evaluate

these newer products other than that provided directly from manufacturers which may or may not have undergone scientific peer review. Newer artificial turf fields in Cambridge, have used alternatives to crumb rubber for infill, including at the Haggerty School Playground (sand based). The City will continue to consider alternatives as they become available, and will remain current on potential health risks associated with various materials as they continue to be studied nationwide. A report is expected from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) later in 2017 on risks associated with artificial fields using recycled crumb rubber infill. A status report has just been issued. The City, through its house doctor procurement process, will hire a technical consultant to further evaluate artificial turf options for the City to include options for Russell field, based on the latest materials available. The scope of that analysis will be further informed by the results of the EPA report. Design work associated with the Russell field project will begin later this spring with the expectation that reconstruction will get underway in the spring of 2018. This design process will also include a community process with meetings probably happening in the fall of 2017. Concerns have also been brought the attention of staff regarding the condition of the artificial turf field at the Graham and Parks School Playground. Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds have been allocated for a renovation of the playground, which is expected to take place sometime in FY17. Additional funds will also be made available to replace the artificial turf in the school. In the interim, staff will work with the Graham and Parks school administration and community to determine options for the alternatives before the renovation process begins. City of Cambridge Artificial Turf Fields/Parks Locations Number of Fields Infill Material Russell Field 1 Crumb Rubber Danehy Park 4 Crumb Rubber Haggerty School 1 Sand Graham and Parks School 1 Crumb Rubber MLK School 1 Synthetic Rubber