FAQ
From our team of experts at VOC-ProShield™.
“We have the means and the technology to take the guesswork out this equation. Reducing exposure means mitigating risk to health and the environment. Defining dose, exposure, and impact on
health is an argument we shouldn’t even be having."
Warren Boomer, Chemist
Are playground surfaces made with rubber or tire crumb safe?
There has been increasing evidence that raises concerns about the safety of tire waste as well as the new rubber and other synthetic material used on playground surfaces. According to the EPA, breathing air contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may increase a person's chance of developing cancer.
In a report, released in 2009, the agency concluded that the level of chemicals monitored in the study and detected in the samples were "below levels of concern." In 2010, the EPA stated along with other organizations recommended, " as a precaution, young children wash their hands frequently after playing outside.
Does crumb rubber infill of artificial turf fields contain or emits chemicals that can affect human physiology?
Of the 306 chemicals associated with crumb rubber infill from publications, application of an in silico computational program predicted 197 carcinogens. Of these, a total of 52 had been classified as carcinogens by the US EPA and/or the ECHA. Of the 109 chemicals which were not predicted to be carcinogenic using the ADME Predictor™, only four were classified as carcinogens by the US EPA and only five chemicals by ECHA. These results demonstrate that in silico carcinogenic prediction is modestly robust and should be considered as a tool for prioritizing carcinogen studies by government bodies under circumstances in which no carcinogenic data is available or conflicting carcinogenic classifications have been obtained. Further prioritization by application of hazard scores in conjunction with Cytoscape visualization revealed chemicals that we propose should be of high priority for future exposure assessments. The results of the present study underscore the need for human exposure studies that investigate the likelihood of users of synthetic turf fields being exposed to the chemicals identified in our study.
Published in final edited from as Enrion Res. 2019 February ; 169: 163-172. doi:10.1016/j.envres.201810.018
What effects does rubber mulch have on our health and environment?
Current research at Bucknell Univerity indicates that rubber leachate from car tires can kill entire aquatic communities of algae, zooplankton, snails, and fish. At lower concentrations, the leachates cause reproductive problems and precancerous lesions.
In high concentrations, some fo these rubber leachates are known to be harmful to human health; effects of exposure range from skin and eye irritation to major organ damage and even death.
Dr. Chalker-Scott
VOC ProShield has the means and the technology to take the guesswork out this equation.
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