BURRILLVILLE – As the new turf field under construction at Burrillville High School nears completion over a local aquifer, Rhode Island Department of Health and Department of Environmental Management representatives are offering concerns “about the potential for PFAS from the turf field to contaminate groundwater in the area.”
The Aug. 15 letter notes that PFAS, a kind of forever chemical linked to some cancers and various other health issues, is found in turf fields, even those claiming to be “PFAS-free.” The trace amounts are not significant enough to cause any harm to those that come into contact with the turf while playing on it, they note, but there are wider concerns.
“The scientific literature has yet to produce a study conclusively linking artificial turf fields with PFAS contamination in groundwater,” the letter reads. “However, sampling data collected by both RIDOH and RIDEM at North Smithfield Junior-Senior High School suggest that the artificial turf field (first constructed in 2007 and upgraded/replaced in 2021) may be partly or wholly contributing to the contamination of nearby private and public drinking water supply wells.”
These concerns echo those of a coalition of conservationists who have protested construction of Burrillville’s turf field for months.
“All of Burrillville municipal water is dependent on the Harrisville Water District, and that’s where that aquifer is,” said Roberta Lacey, one of the leaders in the anti-turf camp. “To you say that we’re a little fearful is an understatement.”
Together with Adam Schatz, Lacey started a petition to protest development of the field. The petition now has close to 1,000 signatures and has gained the support of several School Committee members.
The Town Council approved construction on the field in 2022, partnering with FieldTurf on installation. As part of the process, FieldTurf looped in TRC Companies to evaluate the safety of the field materials. TRC found that such fields do present trace levels of PFAS as a result of the manufacturing process that “does not represent a human health risk” and “does not pose a risk to the environment, the groundwater, the surface water, and the aquifer.”
One criticism highlighted by resident Schatz at an Aug. 13 school board meeting called out the fact that FieldTurf referred to the representative from TRC as the company’s “resident expert,” one who has conducted similar evaluations for comparable projects in four other communities.
The City Council of Portsmouth, New Hampshire voted in 2020 to approve a similar synthetic turf project only if it were “PFAS-free.” FieldTurf won the bid and wrote a letter saying, ”Our supplier has confirmed that their products are free of PFAS, PFOS, and fluorine.”
One independent sample of the turf submitted for testing by a local conservation activist found high levels of organic fluorine, and additional testing found 135 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS, far above the EPA’s new maximum containment level for drinking water established in April, which is 4 ppt.
“Earlier this year, the EPA changed the designation of PFAS from an organic fluorinated chemical to a hazardous substance,” Lacey said. “To me, that means zero is acceptable. Zero. Not ‘lower than the guidelines that the EPA is putting out for drinking water right now.’”
For the Burillville project, further testing is being done on the materials used for the crumb rubber inlay that goes above the ground and below the turf fibers, and the results are expected back in the coming weeks. For this and previous testing, TRC has continued to use Eurofins TestAmerica, a lab in Lancaster, Pa.
Council President Donald Fox, who’s been involved with the project since its inception in 2015, told The Breeze that the amount of PFAS associated with the field should be miniscule. So far, testing has confirmed that. He added that the durability of a turf field is more cost-effective and, potentially, environmentally friendly in the long run.
“If you try to play the amount of hours that we intend to put on that field on a natural grass field, it would break down,” he said. The impending turf field would be used for soccer, lacrosse, football, field hockey, the local youth lacrosse league, and potentially many more. Fox also pointed out the condition of the Alumni Field where the football team plays.
“They only play four to five games per year,” he said. “That field gets covered in pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers. It gets watered throughout the spring, summer, and fall months. That’s tens of thousands of gallons of water or more. That field is more of an environmental travesty.”
A public meeting to discuss the turf field is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 5, at Burrillville High School, 425 East Ave.
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