Journal & Topics Media Group

Meeting Over Crumb Rubber In Niles Draws Critical Crowd

Many In Audience Not Buying Industry Speakers’ Data Claiming Material Safe, Call For Removal

Robert Landell shouts down an industry expert who was claiming crumb rubber is safe at Thursday’s special Niles Park Board meeting on the use of crumb rubber in the indoor soccer field at the new LoVerde Sports & Recreation Center. (Journal photo)

Many attending Thursday’s Niles Park District meeting demanded that a material used in the construction of a new park district soccer field be removed — despite industry experts saying the material is safe.

The meeting, held at the Howard Leisure Center and attended by about 70 people, was contentious from the moment it began. As three industry experts attempted to share data on why they said the use of crumb rubber at the LoVerde Sports & Recreation Center is safe, members of the audience shouted out responses, questioning studies and data used to support claims of safety and citing other studies raising concerns.

At several points, Niles Park District attorney Dan Shapiro asked members of the audience to stop interrupting and to be respectful of the speakers.

At least five members of the Niles Park District police patrol, in uniform, were at the meeting. No speakers needed to be asked to leave or removed.

“In everything we do as your board, your safety is our top priority,” park board President Pat Byrne said as he opened the meeting reading a prepared statement. “That’s why we took seriously your concerns about the field at the LoVerde Center. When we selected that field, we looked for the safest surface, and the surface with the most scientific research behind it. We looked for the industry standard field.”

Byrne said air quality tests were completed showing the field was safe and park officials would “continue to review the literature and to monitor the latest studies because we want to know if there is evidence that another surface is safer.” Byrne concluded his statement with, “If there are surfaces you believe to be safer, we want to hear about them.”

Niles Park District Attorney Dan Shapiro (right) asks members of the crowd to stop interrupting crumb rubber industry speakers. Park Board President Pat Byrne looks on. (Journal photo)

Several parents at the meeting said their children suffered headaches after coming home from activities at the LoVerde Center soccer field, and pulled their children out of park programs on the field. Parents said they were not interested in hearing from industry experts, but wanted to see the crumb rubber material removed.

The crumb rubber field had at least one supporter in the crowd. Joe Walsh of Niles said he blew out his knees years ago when Astroturf was new without any shock absorption, describing the surface as, “plastic concrete.” He said his children play on the LoVerde Center field without headaches or other issues.

The science remains unsettled. “In 2016, President Barack Obama pushed for a comprehensive look at the health risks (of crumb rubber) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced they would look into the issue and conduct their own research,” an informational packet distributed at the meeting by park district officials said. The packet was prepared by David Sloman, who conducted air quality tests at the LoVerde Center.

Federal Environmental Protection Agency officials said they were also involved in that 2016 review, which has not been completed.

“Limited studies” on crumb rubber have not shown an increased health risk, a statement on the US EPA website says regarding the material, “but the existing studies do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb.”

Niles Park District LoVerde Sports & Recreation Center indoor soccer field.

Sloman said his tests determined levels of volatile organic compounds and other contaminants were within acceptable levels as determined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

During his presentation, audience members questioned his methodology in conducting the test in a “still” environment as opposed to testing during, or after field use, when contaminants and particulates might be kicked up into the air.

Michael Peterson, an environmental toxicology and risk assessment expert said in his presentation that his travel was paid for by Field Turf, the company the LoVerde Center’s field was purchased from. He acknowledged there were chemicals in crumb rubber which could be hazardous, but also said there are potentially hazardous chemicals occurring naturally in soil.

Dr. Susan Buchanan, a medical doctor specializing in occupational and environmental medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago, who was not a presenter, said she reviewed literature on crumb rubber. She said she found, “On outdoor fields tire crumb is probably low risk, not no risk. Indoor levels (of exposure to hazardous compounds in crumb rubber) are at higher levels,” because of a lack of ventilation. She urged park commissioners to remove the substance, saying, “Parents don’t care about the studies.”

Niles resident Joe Bianko read a statement on behalf of Niles Mayor Andrew Przybylo. He said the mayor had been receiving a “groundswell” of calls and emails from residents concerned crumb rubber could be life threatening.

Using the analogy of where there is smoke, there is fire, Przybylo’s statement said, “Ongoing safety studies are smoke, why not remove it regardless of the cost. I call on the park district to immediately remove it (crumb rubber).”

The park district is an independent entity over which the mayor has no jurisdiction.

LoVerde Sports & Recreation Center is located on Caldwell Avenue between Oakton and Howard streets.

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