Rubber Crumb

[Markloveslisa]

Hi I have been playing on an artificial all weather footy pitch for at least 4 years on and off. My question is this. Can rubber crumb which is lated upon the surface create itchiness in legs and arms. Sometimes I'm covered in it, esp my socks and trainers.

[Davemano]

A former National Health Service chief on Monday night begged the Government to ban the construction of artificial pitches in the UK following the tragic death of his son whose cancer he fears was caused by playing on them.

Nigel Maguire spoke of his devastation on Monday at losing son Lewis just a month after the 20-year-old had declared he had won his four-year battle against Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

An aspiring goalkeeper who fell ill halfway through a trial at Leeds United in 2013, Lewis trained and played for five years on 3G pitches covered in rubber pellets made from old car tyres containing toxic chemicals mercury, lead, benzene and arsenic.

[IJKLM]

There is a huge amountof sood research on this subject. And also a huge amount of disinformation and misinformation.

I can give you an answer, which is broadly, yes, there is a possibility, if you already have type-IV allergies to certain chemicals, though it is relatively unlikely.

The biggest danger that has been identified in some studies is over-heating.The crumb gets hot under bright sunlight and can cause minor burns.

There's this research:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5615587/

And this:
https://www.epa.gov/chemical-research/federal-research-recycled-tire-crumb-used-playing-fields

They are from the US, where there has been a strong campaign from a parent following a child's death from cancer. Evidence appears to show that the death from cancer was unrelatedto the use of artificial turf, but the parents do not accept that conclusion.

This study from the Dutch environmental health agency also seems to confirm the 'no identifiable health risk' concluson.

https://www.rivm.nl/en/Documents_and_publications/Scientific/Reports/2017/February/Evaluation_of_health_risks_of_playing_sports_on_synthetic_turf_pitches_with_rubber_granulate

[Davemano]

^^^^ This is from a sports paper of May this year. Google Rubber Crumb cancer.

[IJKLM]

In response to the post at 23.13, there is no evidence to show that the assertions are true.

As said, there is a huge amount of disinformation on this subject.

[Davemano]

Plenty of food for thought Markloveslisa.

[Markloveslisa]

Hmmm seems like no one knows for sure guys.. Probably house mites