Thursday, April 7, 2016

NEWS: Concord voters approve moratorium on artificial turf

http://concord.wickedlocal.com/article/20160407/NEWS/160406987

By Henry Schwan

April 07. 2016 11:17AM

Concord voters approve moratorium on artificial turf

Voters at Town Meeting have approved a three-year moratorium on artificial turf in Concord.
Article 47 prevents the placement of synthetic turf with crumb rubber infill on any town-owned land.
It doesn’t include pour-in-place surfaces currently in use on running tracks, like the Emerson playground track, and in children’s playgrounds.
The moratorium ends April 18, 2019, and applies to the Concord Public Schools, but does not include Concord-Carlisle High School.
Janet Miller, a member of Grass Fields for Safe Sports, presented Article 47 on the final night of Town Meeting on April 6 at Concord-Carlisle High School. She said the crumb rubber infill, made from tires, includes chemicals that are carcinogens and endocrine disrupters that are especially dangerous to children, because their bodies are still developing.
Lori Gill-Pazaris, a member of the Concord Climate Action Network, urged the town to form a committee to study the health affects of artificial turf on young children, suggesting that the town could possibly place age limits for playing on the surface.
Susan Feinberg said she supported the article, adding, "I don't understand how tires that are regulated by the government because of health risks can show up on fields."
John Boynton, President of Concord-Carlisle at Play, said, “The moratorium is an opportunity to heal wounds from the intense debate.”
Concord-Carlisle at Play has a five-year lease with the Concord-Carlisle Regional School Committee for a $5 million fields’ renovation project at the high school.
The project included the construction of an artificial turf field with crumb rubber that opened in Fall 2015.
"My hope is that, in time, we can all feel good about our young athletes playing on these first class facilities," Boynton said.
Proponents of the ban said the moratorium will allow more time for research on crumb rubber, so scientists and public health officials will be able to access the health risks of synthetic turf.
Town Manager Chris Whelan said no artificial turf fields are planned in town over the three years of the moratorium, and Baker said the moratorium “ensures that Concord will develop informed policy for the future.”
Follow Henry Schwan on Twitter @henrycojo.    

1 comment:

  1. Dear Admin,
    I have visited a lots of site but you are the best that I have ever seen.
    Increasingly there are more uses for artificial grass than ever before. With new innovative designs and lifelike appearance artificial grass can be found almost anywhere.
    Kunstgræsbane
    Best Regards
    Pamela Darcy

    ReplyDelete