Amsterdam – Synthetic turf fields with an infill of rubber granulate are safe for the public and for sport purposes, a new research by the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) has said.
According to the study, whose result was published 20 Dec, substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), metals, plasticisers (phthalates) and bisphenol A (BPA) which are released from rubber are harmless as they are in “very low quantities”.
“This is because the substances are more or less ‘enclosed’ in the granulate, which means that the effect of these substances on human health is virtually negligible,” the study added.
The study, claimed RIVM, covers all fields with SBR rubber granulates in The Netherlands, as there is little variation in the concentrations of substances between fields and between the measurement points per field.
The study found no link between playing sports on synthetic turfs and leukaemia and lymph node cancer.
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