Citation:

Thomas, K., E. Irvin-Barnwell, A. Guiseppi-Elie, A. Ragin-Wilson, AND J. Zambrana. U.S. Federal Research Action Plan (FRAP) on Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Used on Synthetic Turf Playing Fields and Playgrounds: Final Report Part 1 – Tire Crumb Characterization. EPA Tools and Resources Webinar Series, webinar, August 06, 2019.

Impact/Purpose:

The Federal Research Action Plan was launched in 2016 to address concerns raised by the public about soccer players and the safety of tire crumb used in playing fields and playgrounds. The research activities represent a collaborative federal effort between the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) to increase knowledge and available information about synthetic turf fields by developing exposure information (what is in the material and how people come in contact with the material). The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is conducting separate research on playgrounds. EPA and CDC/ATSDR are reporting research findings in two parts. The Part 1 Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization Research Report summarizes results on a range of chemicals, including metals and organic chemicals, that were found in the tire crumb rubber. Part 2, to be released later, will include data to characterize potential human exposures to the chemicals found in the tire crumb rubber material while using synthetic turf fields. Part 2 will be released along with results from a biomonitoring study being conducted by CDC/ATSDR to investigate potential exposure to constituents in tire crumb rubber. These research activities and the resulting findings do not provide an assessment of the risks associated with playing on or contact with the tire crumb rubber used for synthetic turf fields. Instead, these research results should inform future risk assessments. Updated information is available at EPA’s study website, www.epa.gov/tirecrumb. The purpose of this presentation is to provide a webinar to the public on an overview and status update on the FRAP highlighting results of the recently released Part 1 research report. It is anticipated that hundreds will participate from segments of the public including states, tribes, non-profits, and businesses.

Description:

Recently, parents, athletes, schools and communities have raised concerns about the use of recycled tire crumb rubber on synthetic turf fields. To help address these concerns, CDC/ATSDR and EPA, in collaboration with CPSC, launched a multi-agency research effort in February 2016. This multi-agency research effort, known as the Federal Research Action Plan on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds (FRAP), is focused on assessing potential human exposure, which includes conducting research activities to characterize the chemicals associated with recycled tire crumb rubber and to identify the ways in which people may be exposed to those chemicals based on their activities on synthetic turf fields. Also, the FRAP includes characterizing emissions and bioaccessibility to differentiate what is present in the recycled tire crumb rubber from what people may actually be exposed to from recycled tire crumb rubber. The results of the research activities under the FRAP are being documented in two parts. Part 1 documents the tire crumb characterization activities and results. Part 2 will document the results from the exposure characterization research and will be released along with a planned biomonitoring study to be conducted by CDC/ATSDR. Part 2 will also include a discussion of potential follow-up activities that could provide additional insights into potential exposures to recycled tire crumb rubber used on synthetic turf fields. Tire crumb rubber samples were collected from nine tire recycling facilities, and tire crumb rubber infill material was collected from 40 synthetic turf fields located across the United States. The fields included a range of field types (indoor versus outdoor), field ages and geographic locations. Laboratory analyses were conducted to measure the physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics of the tire crumb rubber material. Results of these analyses provided information about the number and types of chemicals associated with recycled tire crumb rubber, the amount of chemicals released into the air and into simulated biological fluids, and the range and variability of these parameters. As expected, a range of chemicals was found in the recycled tire crumb rubber, including metals and organic chemicals. Where comparative data are available, concentrations of most metal and organic chemicals found in tire crumb rubber were found to be similar when comparing this study to previous studies. Further, the emissions of many organic chemicals into air were typically found to be below detection limits or test chamber background, and releases of metals into simulated biological fluids were very low (mean bioaccessibility values averaged about 3% in gastric fluid and less than 1% in saliva and sweat plus sebum). Together, these findings support the premise that while many chemicals are present in the recycled tire crumb rubber, exposure may be limited based on what is released into air or biological fluids. Toxicity reference information was available for most of the target analytes. This information will contribute to the public’s understanding of the potential hazards that may exist from chemicals associated with recycled tire crumb rubber. The research laid out in the FRAP is not intended to be a risk assessment. It is important to note that the study activities completed as part of this multi-agency research effort were not designed, and are not sufficient by themselves, to directly answer questions about potential health risks. Other studies may aid in this regard. Overall, we anticipate that the results from this multi-agency research effort will be useful to the public and interested stakeholders for understanding the potential for human exposure to chemicals associated with recycled tire crumb rubber infill material used on synthetic turf fields.

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