The EU has banned the sale of products containing intentionally added microplastics, Including Astro-Turf. How About Us?

Why do we continue to collect data about the danger of kids playing on these synthetic turfs, while we continue to allow our children to be put in harm's way?

I would normally find it appalling that parents aren't  flooding our school board in outrage, demanding that they should be the firewall protecting our children.  But I realize that parents must think that if the school board supports this turf, then things likely aren't dire enough to warrant their removal. 

But they would be wrong.   We only have to look at the European Union to see how other societies actually work for the common good to protect their children.

The EU has banned the sale of products containing intentionally added microplastics, including CRUMB RUBBER infill, used in artificial turf.  Crumb Rubber is a known carcinogen our kids are inhaling, getting in their eyes, mouth and skin abrasions.  But the EU doesn't ban synthetic turf itself, and use on school campuses remains permitted.

How can this be?  Well, they focus on the Infill, not the turf.  While they ban crumb rubber infill, they use alternative infills such as coconut fiber and sand as alternatives to crumb rubber.

The way the United States always seems to deal with life threatening additives to things such as turf, or foods or drugs – is to analyze it to death. 

While the EU doesn't disparage analysis per se, what they do is to simultaneously analyze AND REMOVE  the suspect carcinogens until further evidence is accumulated as to whether something is safe or not.   The EU describes our method of looking out for the welfare of our citizens while actually doing nothing as  Paralysis by Analysis.

Sadly, that's exactly what is happening regarding the artificial turf on our school grounds, and this is just another reason why we are the sickest industrial nation in the world.

Jill Chapin

Author';s note: I've lived in Santa Monica for 50 years, put a daughter through our schools, and have worked for fifteen years at Lincoln Middle School, and have been a volunteer reader at Mckinley for over two decades.