Mt. Lebanon residents rally against artificial turf
Mt. Lebanon resident Jeff Heiskell speaks to a crowd in Mt. Lebanon protesting the artificial turf at Middle and Wildcat fields.
Despite protests from residents, dirt is being moved at Mt. Lebanon’s Middle and Wildcat fields in preparation for artificial turf.
Flanked by heavy construction equipment and mounds of earth, several dozen Mt. Lebanon residents gathered on Oct. 26 to rally against the installation of artificial turf at Middle and Wildcat fields, in the municipality’s main park. Members of the crowd displayed signs and punctuated speakers’ comments with enthusiastic rounds of applause.
Mt. Lebanon’s turf project has progressed quickly since its proposal in November 2013, despite vocal opposition from a number of residents. Opponents see artificial turf as a pet project of commissioners and sports groups, which are determined to complete it as quickly as possible despite significant cost and safety concerns.
“This process should have been open and inclusive,” resident Jeff Heiskell said. “The commission has ignored our concerns, and instead relied upon obscure studies from other countries and sales material from turf manufacturers for information. Our Public Information Office has assumed the role of spin doctor, referring to ‘field enhancements’ rather than ‘artificial turf.'”
Artificial turf of the type Mt. Lebanon is installing uses infill manufactured from recycled tires. The tire crumbs are known to contain toxic chemicals, including lead and black carbon. Turf manufacturers insist chemicals remain well within acceptable levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency, and that there are no studies proving a link between crumb rubber infill and diseases such as cancer.
The body of research on crumb rubber infill is fragmented and inconclusive, however. While there is no research proving crumb rubber causes cancer, there are no independent studies proving it is completely safe, either. Many studies feature limited samples sizes and differences in methodology that hamper comparability.
Most importantly, turf opponents say, there are no studies involving young children similar to those who will be playing on Mt. Lebanon’s fields. Young children are inherently vulnerable to chemical exposures due to their physiology.
A recent NBC News report added further fuel to the fire after noting a number of young soccer goalies playing on artificial turf have been diagnosed with blood cancers such as lymphoma. It sparked a call from New Jersey Congressman Frank Pallone for an official study of artificial turf’s impact on athletes.
Commissioner Kelly Fraasch, the only Mt. Lebanon commissioner to vote against the turf project, echoed those concerns when she addressed the crowd. She accused the commission and municipal staff of moving forward without proper due diligence.
“I asked for a materials safety data sheet for both the turf bid we accepted, and for all the bids,” she said. “Ultimately our staff decided not to provide all the MSDS sheets because they didn’t feel it was relevant. I asked about flame retardants and static applications. When I asked questions, the response I received over and over was ‘I don’t know, I’m not a turf expert.'”
Fraasch said she asked for a roll call vote on the project so commissioners would have to “own” their decision. “I was not going to let them bully me into a yes vote,” she said, to an enthusiastic round of applause.
Fraasch urged rally attendees to get involved in the political process to shut the project down.
“Contact your county council person, your congressman. We need to stand firm on this issue as leaders, not followers. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘I might be wrong, let’s go back and make sure we’re right.'”