Unanswered Questions about the new generation artificial turf to be installed at Mission Hill Jr. High and currently BEING installed in downtown Santa Cruz beach area. Please write and /or call your council members and supervisors concerning
the two huge fields downtown and our city school board concerning the Mission Hill Middle School plastic turf to be installed.

The makers of this new 'improved' turf claim: it will have a life expectancy of 15-20 years and that costs are quickly offset by the lack of
ongoing maintenance cost. They claim safety is unmatched by natural turf grass. Their claims are simply unsubstantiated.

First, understand that ground tire rubber is used to "soften" the field. This substance is too toxic to dump in landfills or through ocean dumping,
but is being allowed in large quantities where children will play. They claim they use shredded shoes but does anyone know for certain what
percentage of ground tire rubber versus shoes are really being installed?

Do you know the short and long term health effects for athletes and spectators who inhale ground rubber dust? What happens when particles are
injested by sports players? For the first two months after installation the off gassing is known to cause problems with asthmatics and lung disorders. Will the city notify the beach streets and adjacent neighborhoods?

Temperatures on artificial grass have been recorded to be as much as 86.5 degrees hotter than natural grass under identical conditions. This one finding noted that the natural grass was 93.5 degrees and artificial turf was 180 degrees (F). This was when the air temperature was 96 degrees. Who can play on this hot house? What are the effects? If water is needed to cool down hot plastic what sort of conservation is really taking place? Clearly our cooler weather -- with luck will remain -- but the difference of 85 degrees is significant for all climates and could easily result in an unplayable field. Isn't that why the city and schools want it because it was supposed to be available every day rain or shine?

Consider the removal of bodily fluids like spittle, blood, sweat, sperm, vomit, urine or bird or animal droppings. Will antiseptic cleaners sanitize the area fully? Will these surface cleaners invalidate the product warranty? Does scrubbing the surface damage the fibers and lessen the life expectancy of the product? How much time, equipment and hired help will be required to
ensure a sanitary playing surface? Who is being hired and at what cost to clean up these fluids or droppings on a regular basis?

The medical community is alarmed at how the injuries sustained by new generation turf results in difficult to heal injuries. Recent reports
indicate that synthetic turf systems are associated with the potentially lethal antibiotic-resistant MRSA staph infection. This strain of staph infection has killed and seriously injured numerous children country-wide. The CDC sent out a nationwide warning in August of 2003 about the risk of MRSA, targeting college and professional sports teams as well as health
departments and state high school sports associations. (See Mercury News article of 12/09/03.) Go to theolympian.com/home/news/20031016/highschoolsports/125614.shtml for more info. Or put "MRSA" into Google.

Are the coaches and parents being notified of the dangers of wounds caused by this turf and how to treat them? Are parents and coaches going to be
notified about the extreme temperatures, the overly hard or overly soft surfaces and the the staph infections caused by parasitic bacterium present on these playing surfaces? Will the players be given hydrating guidelines to play on fields in such potentially soaring temperatures?

What are the EPA standards and what has OSHA established for exposure to workers in tire shredding operations and how much of these particulates will be present on the fields, in the air and on the seats? What gases would be emitted in the event of a fire on the surface? The ground tests acknowledge that this turf leaches toxins into the water. How much is acceptable to the city and a school that drains into downtown aquifers?

Natural grass reduces temperature, traps and bio-degrades airborne pollutants, filters rainwater and facilitates the recharging of groundwater and aquifers. Artificial turf not only performs none of these but dumps toxins into run off water. (The salesmen confirmed this in a meeting at Mission Hill School concerning the installation of turf on that campus.)

This sort of field is relatively new and not tested over time and use. To assume a cost benefit may prove to be a highly exaggerated and costly
mistake. Several turf manufacturing companies have gone bankrupt due to lawsuits so what is the city and school district providing to insure the
warranty for life of the product in event of a bankrupt company? Is anyone aware of the practices that may void the field's warranty?

What of cigarette burns? Burns to larger areas? What of wear due to pattern use differences? What are replacement costs to such areas? (information collected from a letter from Keith Muscutt and hacked together by Ann Simonton)

PLEASE HELP US STOP ANOTHER FIELD OF PLASTIC GO to: savegrass.org