Environmental Question #21 [Astroturf]

 

Courtesy of Reddit user u/ubet13

Q: How worrisome do you find astroturf artificial grass? It can be hard to find places to live without it in certain parts of the US but I’ve heard concerns from the microplastics dust it creates, the off-gasses and particularly the actual contact with it on your skin. I’ve read athletes playing on it have increased rates of specific cancers and it seems like it’s starting to be phased out in the EU? But not sure how worried to be. Thank you!

_______________________________________________________

A: Honestly astroturf artificial grass does make me fairly uncomfortable. Dose makes the poison in most cases, and when people are constantly exposed to such a huge amount of plastic day in, day out there are bound to be health effects associated with it. All of the hazards you mention are real and accurate, so while I generally try to put hazards in perspective to avoid fearmongering, this is one space where I think the fear is somewhat justified.

For the sake of putting things in perspective though, I would advise you to think of living in an area surrounded by astroturf as being similar to living in a smog-filled city like Los Angeles. As I'm sure you know, plenty of people live long healthy lives in LA, but the smog still has real negative effects on their health that the people living there need to manage. Regular exposure to astroturf, like regular exposure to smog, isn't a death sentence by any means, but it certainly isn't good for your health either. 

 _______________________________________________________

Q: Wow interesting thank you that really helps and makes a lot of sense with the smog comparison! On that note, when you say it’s about the dose, I know a lot of plastic concerns come from inhalation. Does your discomfort with astroturf come from actually touching it or all of the potential exposures (air, touch, etc). Put practically, should I feel weird opening my windows that have astroturf outside (and that’s what you mean is similar to smog)? 

_______________________________________________________

A: That's a good question! I mean similar to smog in terms of the level of toxicity, which can include for inhalation exposure in some situations. Do you happen to know when the astroturf was installed? Plastic products can off gas for 6 months to a year following installation, so if the astroturf is new then I mean the smog comparison fairly literally since there would still be toxic gases being released from the astroturf. If the astroturf is brand new I would recommend keeping your windows closed until it's done off gassing.

If the astroturf is older than a year, the initial off gassing should be over, at which point microplastics become the only concern. Weathering from the wind and rain can cause tiny bits of the astroturf to break off and become airborne, but personally I wouldn't worry all that much about that. This effect does expose you to more microplastics than someone who isn't surrounded by astroturf, but the dose is low and you can't worry about every little thing in the world. My bigger concern would be microplastic exposure through skin contact. Of course touching it a bit from time to time won't hurt you in any real way, but I'm thinking more about kids or pets that really roll around in the "grass." That's why athletes are at higher risk, because between their practices and matches they spend hours running around and falling over on astroturf every day. If I were you, presuming the astroturf isn't brand new, I would mostly just live my life without thinking about the astroturf that much. I wouldn't make a habit of walking around barefoot on it, but I also wouldn't hesitate to have a picnic on it from time to time, I'd just be sure to use a picnic blanket. Since most of the time I imagine you'd just be walking through it with shoes on though, I think you can just forget it's there for the most part. That's a shame though, because I think playing on the grass and laying in the grass are wonderful ways to spend time outside, and astroturf limits your ability to do those things without being exposed to smog-level chemical hazards.

Donations




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Environmental Question #6 [Plastic vs. Aluminum]

Courtesy of Reddit user u/springreturning Q: Are there any cases where plastic is better for the environment than a similar non-plastic alternative? For example, I’ve heard people say tin foil is worse than plastic wrap. A: This answer varies case by case depending on the particular material. Tin foil vs plastic wrap is a good example, so I'll use it to illustrate my point. Plastic wrap isn't very recyclable because plastics break down a little bit every time they're recycled until they are no longer usable. Plastic wrap also isn't biodegradable, so it can remain hazardous to ecosystems for millennia. On the other hand, tin foil is extremely recyclable because it can be melted back down and remolded an infinite number of times with no adverse effects on quality, and when tin foil ends up in the environment it's just a mineral, no more dangerous than having a rock lying around. From those factors it might seem like tin foil is overall better than plastic...
Read more

Environmental Question #3 [Microplastic Life Cycle]

 Courtesy of Reddit user u/makingitgreen Q: Do micro plastics themselves ever break down into their elemental constituents and become harmless? I always see talk of micro plastics getting smaller and smaller over hundreds of years etc but I've always wondered what's the actual end game and how long it's taken for say, a polythene bag to actually fully go away in soil.
Read more

Environmental Question #5 [Plastic Pollution]

Courtesy of Reddit user u/Grandemestizo Q: How worried should I be about plastic in the environment? Because I’m pretty worried about it. Also, what is the most environmentally friendly way to dispose of materials which are not biodegradable and cannot be recycled? A: The history of humanity is a story of us getting gradually better at not poisoning ourselves and our ecosystems. I expand on this idea in my article here . If you look back in time we went from pooping in the same rivers we drank from and wondering why people kept getting sick, to using mercury in hat manufacturing and breathing soot without masks which gave us mad hatters and black lung, to using lead in gasoline and paint which caused generations of cognitive problems particularly for children. In the modern era we know about and mostly avoid the dangers of bacterial infections, mercury, smoke inhalation, and lead poisoning, because we have grown smarter and more responsible about pollution very slowly. The mo...
Read more