Artificial Pitches

[stus768]

Anyone seen this?

http://www.skysports.com/football/n...ort-claims-link-between-3g-pitches-and-cancer

 

[Tony Manx]

.......and next week there will be a report that they are good for you and you should have a bit for breakfast daily.............

 

[HowieLO6]

.......and next week there will be a report that they are good for you and you should have a bit for breakfast daily.............

A bit flippant, given that the reporting isn't too way off the mark. Quantifying the health risk to those participating won't be an easy task - the timing of the 2nd report demonstrates that - but I'm not so sure I'd be entirely happy about exposing myself to carcinogens on such a regular basis.

Granted, we invariably expose ourselves to carcinogenic chemicals in the air we breathe and the food we eat, but it strikes me that any increase in exposure isn't exactly a cracking idea.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Especially if said carcinogenic material is directly exposed to the bloodstream... which it is when you get burns from sliding on it!

 

[Duck a l'Orange]

Couple of paragraphs in the Rugby Paper from Ed Slater saying that him and a lot of other players dislike them because of the extra stress on joints, ligaments, tendons, etc.

One example is that Jack Nowell won't play on them due to ligament damage.

 

[smartcooky]

Anyone heard of the them being linked to Cancer? Apparently study going on in US.

Its not the turf itself, but the crumb rubber material that is used as cushioning that is the suspect in cancer cases. It sits at the base of the artificial grass. Crumb rubber is made from waste rubber tyres which contains heavy metals and trace amount of toxins that may be carcinogens.

Firstly, not all brands of artificial turf use crumb rubber for cushioning. Astroturf does, Polyturf didn't (used silicon sand instead) Desso doesn't but is not 100% artificial either.

Secondly, artificial pitches are the least of the worry, because crumb rubber is used in many other areas where the public may come into frequent contact with it; home and industrial landscaping, trail and walkway surfaces, guttering and water pipe sealants, golf course tee boxes, children's playgrounds, agricultural matting such as used for equestrian sport surfaces, many moulded, extruded and plastic/rubber blended items such as laptop and desktop computer cases, plastic buckets, electrical insulation, garden hose etc. The list is endless; millions of separately identifiable line items are made from materials containing crumb rubber.

 

[g6mcg]

Secondly, artificial pitches are the least of the worry, because crumb rubber is used in many other areas where the public may come into frequent contact with it; home and industrial landscaping, trail and walkway surfaces, guttering and water pipe sealants, golf course tee boxes, children's playgrounds, agricultural matting such as used for equestrian sport surfaces, many moulded, extruded and plastic/rubber blended items such as laptop and desktop computer cases, plastic buckets, electrical insulation, garden hose etc. The list is endless; millions of separately identifiable line items are made from materials containing crumb rubber.

Presumably it's worse in a sports context because of the increased likelihood of open wounds/grazes?

(Layman's perspective, happy to be corrected!)

 

[stus768]

http://www.warriors.co.uk/mobile/news/9518.php

Interesting that they are using an organic substitute for the rubber crumb.

 

[Vieux Talonneur]

Beat me to it.

I do get the financial case of increased use of the stadiums.

However, call me a dinosaur, but I prefer my rugby to be played on grass, outside, and in the winter.

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Desso or Bust........

 

[ratsapprentice]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/36196805

The French football players' union (UNFP) has called for synthetic grass pitches to be replaced by natural grass ones "from the start of next season," citing injury concerns.