Boston Mayor Michelle Wu recently directed the city to cease the installation of artificial turf in public parks due to the presence of toxic PFAS chemicals.
An official update about construction progress at Malcolm X Park issued at the end of August noted that "Mayor Wu has directed that no new artificial turf fields will be installed in the City of Boston."
In a statement to The Guardian, Wu's office confirmed that "The city has a preference for grass playing surfaces wherever possible and will not be installing playing surfaces with PFAS chemicals moving forward."
The newspaper notes that artificial turf is made with PFAS chemicals and some is made with ground-up tires, which can contain carcinogens and other toxic compounds.
"We already know there are toxic chemicals in the products, so why would we continue to utilize them and have children roll around on them when we have a safe alternative, which is natural grass?" said Sarah Evans, a professor of environmental health at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine.
The Synthetic Turf Council, an artificial turf industry group, told the Guardian that the amount of PFAS in artificial turf is not dangerous.
"Independent research has shown time and time again that synthetic turf systems provide many community benefits and continue to meet and exceed regulatory standards for human health, safety, and performance," the group said.
However, Evans said studies have not been conducted on what impact the chemicals have on children.
Kyla Bennett, a former EPA official who is now the director of science policy at Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said: "It seems kind of nonsensical to put ground-up tires in a field where children are playing."
She added: "It's only a matter of time before [artificial turf] is banned. In a few years we're going to be asking, 'How on Earth did we ever allow this to happen?'"
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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