A SCOTTISH health sciences expert has warned that the use of crumb rubber infill in rubber playgrounds and synthetic football pitches could become more hazardous after the UK leaves the European Union.
Professor Andrew Watterson, from the University of Stirling, was speaking to The National after scientists in the Netherlands disputed findings from the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) giving the material a clean bill of health.
The Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) looked at the general concentration limits of eight carcinogenic poly aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) present in rubber mixtures and concluded that they were “insufficient for protecting those who come into contact with the granules while playing at sports facilities and playgrounds”.
Watterson said: “European crumb rubber manufacturers are worried non-EU suppliers especially from Asia and USA might not be as well-regulated as those in EU.
“So what will assessments of risk be like when we are no longer supported by ECHA and other bodies setting public health standards on these chemicals?
“The Dutch focus is heavily on the eight PAHs but there are other PAHs that may present hazards and other chemicals such as phthalates that have been found in crumb rubber on pitches.”
The ECHA had said “to ensure that no plastic and rubber granulate is placed on the market with such high PAH concentrations, a lower limit needs to be set”.
Watterson added: “I am not aware that either trading standards officers or environmental health officers who would inspect private pitches and leisure centres not run by local authorities, have carried out any health checks on users or workers on 3G pitches and crumb rubber children’s playgrounds.
“Health Protection Scotland (HPS) need to explain how they will address the RIVM report caveat that some crumb rubber chemicals exceeded EU consumer products standards.
“The Dutch, therefore, proposed these PAH chemicals in pitches come closer to consumer standards and mixtures of PAHs in crumb rubber do not exceed the generic EU Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) limit.”
He added that cancer-causing chemicals were not the only concern: “PAHs and other chemicals are known to have adverse reproductive and developmental effects, affect the endocrine system, affect cardio-vascular functions... The issue remains about what levels of the hazardous chemicals are present in crumb rubber and what levels will affect humans and in what ways.”
HPS said it had carried out two reviews in the past year, including of the RIVM and ECHA studies, neither of which had confirmed any link between exposure to tyre crumb through use of artificial pitches or playgrounds and adverse human health outcomes.
A spokesperson said: “Health Protection Scotland has, therefore, concluded that there is a clear consensus in the findings from evidence published to date, which does not support the hypothesis that exposure to tyre crumb used in artificial surfaces poses a significant risk to human health.”
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