Artificial turf and cancer risk not proven, says Vancouver Coastal Health
'There are carcinogens in this crumb rubber, but it depends on the dose,' says medical health officer
Vancouver Coastal Health says it's reviewed the studies and deemed the artificial turf fields that use crumb rubber are safe, despite health concerns in the U.S.
"For the moment, we think they are safe," said Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, medical health officer with Vancouver Coastal Health.
Earlier this year State of California announced it is investigating health concerns linked to crumb rubber after a Washington State University soccer coach noticed she was visiting more young soccer goalies at cancer clinics than before.
There are ten of sports fields in Vancouver which are sprinkled with the tiny rubber pellets and another 12 in Surrey.
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"There are carcinogens in this crumb rubber, but it depends on the dose that you are exposed to and other carcinogens in the environment," said Dr. Lysyshyn.
He said the carcinogen levels in the field are similar to the levels in the urban environment, such as tires, cars and exhaust.
Dr. Lysyshyn said even with studies that looked at ingestion of the material, the studies could not find any detectable amount.
"If at some point it looks like these fields are too dangerous to use, we are obviously going to recommend people to not use them," he said.
But there are advantages in using the artificial turf, said Dr. Lysyshyn, as they don't need water or pesticides.
Not advisable
While Vancouver Coastal Health doesn't think the crumb rubber cause cancer, they don't advise getting the crumbs inside open wounds, eyes, or mouths.
"We do tell parents that if their kids are playing on these fields, after they play, they need to take off their socks and turn them in side out, take off their shoes and shake them out, and they need to have a shower and wash their hands, and that goes to washing any wounds" he said.
Dr. Lysyshyn notes health authorities were concerned about the amount of lead in the turf, but since then manufactures have lowered it.
To hear the full interview listen to the audio labelled Artificial turf and cancer risk not proven, says Vancouver Coastal Health with the CBC's Stephen Quinn on The Early Edition.