Burrillville Residents Raise Concerns Over PFAS Potential in Turf Field
BURRILLVILLE, R.I. — Dozens of concerned residents packed into the town municipal building Wednesday night to speak out against the installment of an artificial turf field at the high school.
The residents, some of whom had to line up out the door at the July 10 Burrillville Town Council meeting, said they worry the turf may contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), group of manufactured chemicals linked to serious health issues, including several types of cancers and developmental delays in children.
The Environmental Protection Agency regulates PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” which are found in many products, from firefighting foam to water-proof clothing to artificial turf.
Roberta Lacey, a local environmentalist and member of the town’s Conservation Commission, helped rally other concerned residents after hearing that the turf field construction was underway.
Lacey recognized that she had come late to the issue — excavators have already torn up the grass field where the turf is planned — but she believes there is time to change course. She retained an attorney to fight the artificial turf, if the project moves forward.
She initially realized the turf may contain PFAS after she started looking into buying a property in Oakland village and heard about how the chemicals contaminated the water there.
Burrillville had to take the village’s drinking water source offline after high levels of PFAS, above what the EPA said was safe at the time, were found. (The federal agency has since lowered the maximum again.)
The Oakland water source was downhill from a fire station where firefighting foams containing PFAS were stored. Some residents believe that contamination made them sick.
“I kind of went down a rabbit hole with the PFAs, learning all I could,” Lacey said. “That’s when a light bulb went off, like, ‘Oh my God, it’s in artificial turf, and that’s what they’re putting at the high school.’”
FieldTurf, the company hired by Burrillville to install the field, didn’t respond to requests for comment, but company representatives attended a June Town Council meeting to respond to questions from council members and dispute that its products pose a threat to the town’s health and safety.
“We know that PFAS is a growing concern throughout the country, and as a company, we go to great lengths to test all of our materials,” Chris Hulk, director of design and construction for FieldTurf in New England, said.
When asked if FieldTurf could guarantee that water coming off the field wouldn’t contain PFAS, Hulk said “it’s hard to describe that as a guarantee.”
Elizabeth Denly, vice president and chemistry director at Connecticut-based TRC, an engineering and consulting firm, said some tests that mimicked weathering on FieldTurf products over time did have positive results for PFAS, but not in amounts that would be harmful to people or the environment.
“We saw very trace levels,” she said.
Lacey said any level of PFAS concerns her. She cited recently passed Rhode Island legislation to ban the manufacture and sale of dozens of products, including artificial turf, that contain intentionally added forever chemicals. She also noted EPA’s tightening PFAS restrictions.
Several other members of the public echoed these concerns. School Committee Chair Silvia St. Pierre said the committee has “major concerns” about how potential PFAS in the turf could hurt the kids who play on it, in addition to worries about how it could contaminate local water resources.
St. Pierre asked that the council look further into the costs of putting in grass over artificial turf.
“Do not use a rushed, cheap option, full of buyer’s remorse,” she said.
The Harrisville Fire District, where the high school is located and which includes the fire and water departments for the village, wrote a letter to the Town Council citing concerns over possible drinking water contamination.
“Harrisville respectfully urges the town to exercise due diligence in reviewing all precautions during the construction and use of the new synthetic field,” district chairman Brayton Round II wrote.
Other concerned residents included high school basketball coach Amy Hauser, who attended the meeting despite being sick with kidney issues.
“My question is why on earth would this field even be considered after knowing the harm it will do, not only to our athletes, but our entire community?” Hauser asked. “Is it the money? Because there is no monetary value you can put on life. Is it the timeline? Because I would rather our kids risk home-field advantage than lose their health. Is it your pride? Because I would have so much more respect for you all, if you’re willing to change your opinion after hearing the facts presented to you.”
Hauser, who struggled to walk out of the meeting room after speaking, said she felt it was especially important to come, even though she is in pain, because, although her illness wasn’t caused by PFAS, she doesn’t want anyone’s health to be impacted or for someone to feel the way she currently does.
“My first thing is always to do no harm to anybody,” said Irene Watson, a resident and retired nurse, arguing exposing people to carcinogens is harmful.
But, she added, as a taxpayer, she said she was also worried about the liability the field could be to the town.
“We want to make sure we protect the town’s people and the town’s financial stability,” Watson said.
The turf field issue wasn’t on the agenda Wednesday night and the council took no official action. Following the public hearing part of the agenda, the meeting proceeded with other business, and after it adjourned, council member Justin Batalon said, “I haven’t been yelled at by that many women since I was married.”
Council President Donald Fox told ecoRI News after the meeting was over that the town is in the process of gathering more information about the turf and potential PFAS issues.
“Right now, the town is doing and conducting its due diligence and that involves working with experts that we hired, conducting tests, and doing a whole slew of things that we feel are appropriate to protect the town and the townspeople,” Fox said. “That takes time. I am not sure that any of us are prepared to, you know, offer changes on opinions at this point. We’re still waiting to hear back from our own experts. There’s a lot of hyperbole out there.”
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