The Pleasantville UFSD is deciding on what turf material will replace the fields at BRS and the HS. Our children will be playing on these fields for the next 10 to 15 years.

We are urging Pleasantville Parents to say NO to crumb rubber and carbon black as the fill for the replacement fields at our schools- SAFER ALTERNATIVES ARE AVAILABLE

Typical synthetic turf fields contain plastic blades and recycled tire infill (a/k/a crumb rubber).

Crumb rubber typically contains heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

This crumb rubber is a material that cannot be legally disposed of in landfills because of its toxicity. Why should we let our children play in it, roll on it, and breathe it when alternatives exist?

Compounds contained in crumb rubber can cause cancer, developmental delays, and disrupt the endocrine system and hormonal balance.

Crumb rubber infill that contains carbon black consists of carbon nanotubes - these nanotubes are 10,000 times smaller than a human hair and mimic asbestos in the lungs. 

Doctors from Yale and Mt Sinai have warned about the health risks of these compounds and that the effects may take years to manifest themselves. 

Dr Andrew McNitt, a soil scientist and former advisor to NFL groundskeepers indicated that between 6,000 and 7,000 pounds of crumb rubber can migrate out of a field each year.

Hastings and Irvington School Districts have rejected crumb rubber. Irvington will be installing a nontoxic organic infill turf on their fields. Since 2009, NYC Dept of Parks has banned the installation of crumb rubber on any of its fields; 8 of our NY legislators have called for a moratorium on installation of it; and CA and VA currently have bills calling for moratoriums on crumb rubber installations.

  On hot days, temperatures can reach over 130 degrees a few feet above the artificial turf - precisely at the altitude where our kids play. Children have higher rates of respiration and their metabolic rates are higher, making them  particularly vulnerable to the offgassing of chemicals. They do not regulate their body heat the same way adults do, and are more susceptible to dehydration, exhaustion, heat stress and heat stroke on an overheated field. Organic infill retains moisture and keeps playing surfaces cooler than crumb rubber and EPDM.

Several turf companies offer safer, non-toxic organic alternatives to crumb rubber and these alternative infills, unlike crumb rubber, can be disposed of as regular waste because they are non-toxic.