In many areas of the country, school districts and cities are tearing out grass athletic fields and replacing them with artificial turf. The main justifications given for this\u00a0usually are\u00a0cost\u00a0and increased usability. While turf does provide a more consistent playing field, and\u00a0a\u00a0turf\u00a0field could host\u00a0 more events each year, especially during the rainy season, it has many disadvantages, including cost ($1,000,000 to install, yearly maintenance fees approximately the same as grass, needs to be replaced every 8-10 years)\u00a0compared to a grass field.<\/p>\n
My primary concern with turf fields is that they are less safe than grass fields. Many studies have shown that turf fields significantly increase injuries. Per-team injury rates in the National Football League were 27% higher for\u00a0 games played on a specific artificial turf (Field Turf)\u00a0surface vs. games played on natural grass during the 2002 to 2008 seasons, according to a\u00a0 recent study, which also found 88% higher ACL injury rates and 32% higher ankle\u00a0 eversion sprain rates for games played on the artificial turf. An NCAA study conducted from 2004-2009 found that\u00a0\u00a0college football players suffer knee\u00a0 injuries about 40% more often when playing on an artificial surface compared to\u00a0 when they’re playing on grass. The NFL Players Association has advocated for the removal of turf fields as a player safety issue.<\/p>\n
In addition to joint injuries, turf can be a dangerous surface during hot days. According to an article from the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture artificial fields cannot be played\u00a0 on all the time due to temperature build-up on warm-sunny days.\u00a0 Artificial field surface temperatures have\u00a0 been documented as high as 199\u00b0F on a sunny day with an air temperature of 98\u00b0F\u00a0 (7). Researchers at Brigham\u00a0\u00a0 Young University\u00a0 reported that the surface temperature of a synthetic football field on campus\u00a0 averaged 117\u00b0F, with a daily high of 157\u00b0F (8). On an adjacent natural grass\u00a0 field the surface temperature averaged 78\u00b0F, with a daily high of 89\u00b0F. Researchers\u00a0 at Penn State University\u00a0 studied the effect of using irrigation to reduce surface temperatures of\u00a0 synthetic fields and discovered that temperature could be decreased with\u00a0 irrigation, but the effects were short-lived (20 minutes). Because of these\u00a0 high temperatures, an artificial field will remain largely unusable during warm\u00a0 days. Additionally, practicing on an artificial field could increase the\u00a0 incidence of heat stroke, muscle cramping, and overall athlete fatigue.<\/p>\n
Turf\u00a0can also be a breeding ground for a very serious bacterium, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus<\/em><\/strong> or\u00a0MRSA, which is responsible for several difficult-to-treat infections in humans. \u00a0A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine<\/em> linked MRSA to the abrasions caused by artificial turf. Three studies by the Texas State Department of Health found that the infection rate among football players was 16 times the national average. Studies have shown that while grass appears to hinder the growth and survivability of MRSA (and other bacteria), turf presents a very favorable environment for bacteria.<\/p>\n Grass fields are much safer than turf fields and\u00a0cost less long-term. The healthier and safer solution to crowded\/over-used athletic fields, is to build more grass fields. Tearing out grass fields for turf cannot be justified economically or ethically in most situations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"