Reports Question Synthetic Turf
Posted in General by Curtis Williams
The cancer cases among athletes who have played on synthetic turf fields are being gathered in an ever lengthening list, reports Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), an organization of physicians and public health professionals.
Because there is still no government agency collecting data on the cancer cases among athletes who have played for a number of years on synthetic turf fields, the collecting of the cancer data has been left to Amy Griffin, Associate Head Soccer Coach at the University of Washington.
Starting in 2014, news reports emerged questioning whether crumb rubber causes cancer. An ESPN report featured University of Washington soccer coach Amy Griffin, who started a list of soccer players who played on crumb rubber and have been diagnosed with cancer.
In May 2016 CBS4 in Denver and ESPN reported Griffin’s list of athletes with cancer who have played on synthetic turf now exceeds 200 athletes, 158 of whom are soccer players. Of those soccer players, 101 are goalkeepers.