Health issues surrounding turf fields have given the Mineola School District pause in its estimated $3 million plan to install a synthetic surface at Hampton Stadium behind the Hampton Street School. The project would also incorporate new building additions to the school, which are subject to New York State approval. Financing the plan would also need district voter confirmation.
“We have no desire to do anything that isn’t perfect,” District Superintendent Michael Nagler said last week, noting state education department confirmation has a six-month waiting period. “I don’t want anyone to feel that there’s pressure to make a quick decision. We want to get it right.”
Mineola expects to tap its reserve fund to pay for the project, which allows the board to designate future monies toward other capital projects. The reserve was created in 2011 by a proposition attached to an election day budget vote.
Mineola will seek state aid for the project, but would need to attach a school building component to the plan.
The district suggested a new cafeteria for Hampton Street classrooms and a bus loop. The current cafeteria would be converted into additional classrooms.
“I think we’re resolved that the current [field] doesn’t work,” Nagler said. “We’ve spent the extra money on the sod and it doesn’t work. So the next question is, ‘If we go to turf, what are the pros and cons?’ Putting aside whether or not you believe [the health issues] we have options that address it. Our due diligence has to be ‘what are we putting in the infill?’”
The infill of synthetic turf fields consists of rubber, mixed with sand, called crumb rubber, which is made of recycled tires and last 10 years, experts say. According to Michael Mark, chief designer for the project, this is the most recommended option for multi-sport use (Mineola plays football and lacrosse at Hampton Street).
Turf fields have quickly become the go-to solution for long-term field play. Last year’s Super Bowl was played on crumb rubber at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ.
Nearby Chaminade High School, Garden City, Roslyn and Manhasset school districts are the few of many to install the fake grass in the last decade. But the contents of the field turf has parents and officials concerned.
“We want to make sure that when our kids are on those fields that it is as safe as humanly possible,” Rep. Steve Israel said recently. “I expect that the EPA will use all of its resources to help determine the science of these crumb rubber fields.”
Israel wants a more comprehensive study on field infill. While Nassau County recently approved $10.8 million for new artificial fields at Eisenhower Park and other towns stand behind Israel’s pleas, Mineola officials also feel more analysis is needed.
“I’d like to think we’re going to get a clearer answer out of those studies that we can sink our teeth into,” School Board President Artie Barnett said. “Right now, I’m a little cynical about who is endorsing what studies and deciding which one should be believed.”
Mark acknowledged the recent reports but noted additional options to crumb rubber for Mineola.
“There have been recent reports of health concerns,” Mark said. “The fears are that the rubber itself causes cancer. There are over 30 cases of that nationwide. Not a lot of evidence to back that up, but it’s still a concern that’s out there, but there are options.”
Citing a 2008 study conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Mark suggests the 69 fields surveyed did not reveal scientific proof of cancer risk.
“The EPA established a threshold of 1 in 1 million,” he said. “Actual cancer cases caused by crumb rubber are 1 in 2.9 million.”
Field temperature is also a concern. The fields tend to get warmer in the summer season than grass fields. An alternative to crumb rubber is “coolfill,” a field created by Georgia-based Sprinturf. The field would cost $70,000, but reduces the ground-level temperature by 30 percent using green granules and is UV-resistant.
Rather than black shards, coolfill uses a green colorant in its infill. Bethpage High School implemented it recently, according to Mark.
“It’s coated in elastomeric coating,” Marks said. “What that does is stops the release of chemicals and is ultra-violet resistant and reduces the field temperature by at least 10 degrees.”
A plastic pellet infill would cost between $60,000-$150,000. Other fields use cork flakes and husk culls, which according to Mark, are softer than crumb rubber, but decompose quickly. Cork infill on a turf field would cost $250,000.
“I haven’t found a field study that would give me the [corn flakes] information,” Mark said.
For Mineola School Board trustee Patricia Navarra, updated studies are crucial.
“Some of this information is old,” she said. “I’d like to be convinced, but I want more evidence.”
Supporters of turf fields point to reductions in brain and bone injuries with its installation. According to the Synthetic Turf Council, a nonprofit group with artificial field expertise, “there have been more than 60 technical studies…the preponderance of evidence shows no negative health effects associated with crumb rubber in synthetic turf.”
“Football players getting tackled on frozen ground is like getting tackled on concrete,” Mark said. “Soccer season extends to now. [Field turf] gives you more flexibility and safety for the kids overall in those aspects.”
