Study: Rubber turf doesn't raise cancer risk

OLYMPIA, Wash. (Feb. 10, 2017)— A newly issued analysis from the Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) concluded there is no evidence that cancer rates among young athletes are increased by playing on crumb rubber athletic turf.

"We did not find the number of cancers among soccer players, select and premier players or goalkeepers reported to the project team to be higher than expected based on Washington cancer rates for people of the same ages," said the executive summary of the analysis from the WSDOH.

A coalition of three synthetic turf associations — the Recycled Rubber Council (RRC), the Safe Fields Alliance and the Synthetic Turf Council — said they were pleased but not surprised by the results of the WSDOH analysis.

• This story appeared in the Jan. 30 print edition of Tire Business.

"The findings address an area of uncertainty and lend further credence to the many available scientific analyses on the subject with consistent conclusions," said Michael Peterson, scientific adviser to the RRC.

"The best evidence indicates there are no safety risks associated with chemicals found in recycled rubber infill."

The genesis of the analysis, according to the study's executive summary, was the concerns of Amy Griffin, a women's college soccer coach at the University of Washington, about the number of young soccer players — especially goalkeepers — who were diagnosed with cancer, especially leukemia and lymphoma.

Ms. Griffin eventually compiled a list of 53 young people with cancer, most of whom played soccer, the WSDOH said.

Many of the cancer victims played on crumb rubber fields and Ms. Griffin wondered if there was a connection between their illnesses and the chemicals in the crumb rubber.