By Matthew Tresaugue    November 7, 2015

Workers put down turf in Bear Branch Park in The Woodlands. Some critics nationwide are voicing health concerns about the material's crumb rubber filler. Photo: Courtesy / The Woodlands Township Photo: Courtesy Workers put down turf in Bear Branch Park in The Woodlands. Some critics nationwide are voicing health concerns about the material's crumb rubber filler.

There was a time when hours of steady, hard rain could close soccer fields in The Woodlands for days. So this sports-crazed suburb decided to replace the grass with a synthetic turf that would be playable in any weather.

The artificial surface has worked so well that games were played last Sunday, the day after a heavy storm dumped more than 2 inches of rain on the area.

But not everyone is convinced that the switch three years ago was the right one. That's because of growing concerns about possible health risks from exposure to the rubber granules nestled in the grass fibers.

The recycled tire pieces, known as crumb rubber, can contain carcinogens and harmful chemicals like benzene and lead.

Turf companies argue there is no conclusive evidence linking the material with any health problems, but national calls for more study have increased in the past year after a University of Washington soccer coach started compiling a list of cancer-stricken athletes who played primarily on fields with ground-up tires.

Mike Bass, a member of the township's governing board, is urging colleagues to look at replacing crumb rubber with more expensive organic fillers that don't trouble public health experts.

"I would hate to have someone come to us in five years and say there is a problem" with the safety of crumb rubber, Bass said. "When there is doubt, we should go with the safer option."

The push comes as cities and school districts across the nation are rethinking the use of crumb rubber in their artificial fields. Seminole County, Fla., has suspended the installation of synthetic turf at its new sports complex because of health concerns, while parents in a Seattle suburb have been urging officials to use a filler other than crumb rubber for the city's all-weather fields.

Local origin

The debate in The Woodlands is happening just down the road from where artificial turf became popularized. After Bermuda grass was unable to grow because of the lack of sunlight in the Astrodome, Astros owner Roy Hofheinz had a newly patented carpet-like playing surface installed in 1966.

AstroTurf and similar products have evolved since then, with the little rubber crumbs and other material, such as sand, added as filler between grass fibers in the 1990s to resemble natural turf and improve playability.

Today, there are more than 12,000 artificial turf fields across the country, according to the Synthetic Turf Council, an industry group. In greater Houston, the fields are found mostly at suburban stadiums, such as Katy Independent School District's Rhodes Memorial Stadium and Cypress-Fairbanks ISD's Berry Center. Last Tuesday, Magnolia ISD voters approved a $8 million bond measure for new synthetic turf at two football stadiums, among other project.

The Woodlands and Fort Bend County's Sienna Plantation community have the only synthetic turf fields for everyday use by youth sports leagues. Both installed the fields in the last three years.

The Woodlands decided to make the switch because of increasing demand for sports fields. With limited space for new ones, the suburb's governing board decided to improve field durability by installing six all-weather surfaces for soccer, lacrosse and other uses. The turf also is cheaper to maintain and allows the township to conserve water.

Chris Nunes, director of parks and recreation for The Woodlands, said the response has been "95 percent" positive - strong enough that when land became available for new fields, the township opted to construct three more with synthetic turf. The fields at Gosling Sports Park are set to open in January.

"We have to make every square foot usable, and that's what this has done," Nunes said.

'Science takes time'

Researchers have not linked exposure to crumb rubber to any health risks, but concern is growing at a national level.

On Wednesday, U.S. Senators Bill Nelson and Richard Blumenthal, both Democrats, urged the Consumer Product Safety Commission to study the safety of synthetic fields using crumb rubber. The federal agency in 2008 said the synthetic turf was alright to install but did not assess the possible health risks beyond exposure to lead, the senators wrote in a letter.

A House committee also is pressing for guidance from the Environmental Protection Agency, which did not find health risks in a 2009 study, but its scope was too limited to draw any conclusions. The agency said more research is needed.

"There is no evidence that is making these links, but that does not mean we are dismissing concerns," EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy told ESPN last week. "Science takes time."

Nancy Alderman, who leads Connecticut-based Environment and Human Health Inc., a group of public health officials and doctors, said cities and school districts should stop installing synthetic turf with crumb rubber until more is known. Each field, she said, uses pieces from 20,000 to 40,000 old tires.

"They were all put in without any testing" by the federal government, she said.

Joe DiGeronimo, whose firm designed the all-weather surfaces for The Woodlands, said about 90 percent of synthetic fields nationwide use crumb rubber because it's the most cost-effective and proven filler. But the new studies could provoke a major shift, he said.

"I don't think they will be able to put their finger on it causing cancer, but parents are not going to want to put their kid on it," DiGeronimo said. "We are in the synthetic turf business, not the rubber business. So it's a matter of coming up with the right way forward."

Pricey estimate

In The Woodlands, the three fields set to open soon have a tighter weave than others in the Houston area to reduce the amount of tiny pieces of tires that fly out of the turf during play. But Bass, the board member, said he doesn't think that goes far enough, considering the scientific uncertainty surrounding crumb rubber.

Instead, the township should look at alternatives, such as ground walnut shells or coconut husks, Bass said. The walnut shells combined with an organic material also can reduce the field's surface temperature, but it's not cheap. To replace crumb rubber with the natural material on the nine fields would cost an estimated $1.3 million.

"It may take years to get answers," he said. "In the meantime, kids continue to be exposed. If there are alternatives that are safe, why not use them?"

But Gordy Bunch, a board member whose three sons play soccer on the all-weather fields, said he sees no reason to make changes.

"There has not been anything to make me think differently," Bunch said. "If something comes up, I would be happy to look at a replacement. But my wife is the only person who isn't as happy (with the all-weather turf) because we don't get free time from rained out practices and games."