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1
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 118

 
2    WHEREAS, Since the late 1990s, the installation and use of
3indoor and outdoor artificial turf fields with crumb rubber
4infill has grown exponentially across the United States and
5particularly in Illinois; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The costs to install artificial turf fields with
7crumb rubber range from $500,000 to well over one million
8dollars with a useful life of six to 12 years depending on
9usage and maintenance; maintenance costs which include
10disinfecting are around $100,000 annually; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The installation of artificial turf fields with
12crumb rubber infill is largely paid for by taxpayer dollars; a
13typical artificial turf field uses between 20,000 to 40,000
14ground up car and truck tires for its crumb rubber infill; the
15crumb rubber industry came out of an effort to figure out how
16to dispose of millions of used tires that were considered too
17toxic to dump into landfills; and
 
18    WHEREAS, On October 8, 2014, NBC News aired a national
19report, "How Safe is the Artificial Turf Your Child Plays On?"
20that brought the issue of crumb rubber into the national
21consciousness; Amy Griffin, the former United States women's
22national team goalkeeper coach at the University of Washington,

 

 

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1compiled a list that now contains the names of over 230
2athletes, most of whom are soccer players, particularly
3goalies, that have been stricken with cancer due to repeated
4contact with crumb rubber; since that NBC report, there have
5been many other reports across the United States and Europe
6about the safety of crumb rubber, particularly for young
7children; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Today, children as young as 18 months are playing
9sports, particularly soccer, on crumb rubber artificial turf
10fields; more and more children are playing sports on these
11fields with the presumption that the fields are safe; children
12can be exposed to highly toxic crumb rubber substances through
13inhalation, skin absorption, and accidental ingestion; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The scientific name for crumb rubber is
15styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), and according to OSHA, chronic
16exposure to both styrene and butadiene can harm the central
17nervous system of children; the EPA has classified butadiene as
18a known human carcinogen; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In June of 2015, Environment and Human Health,
20Inc., an organization of physicians and public health
21professionals, conducted a study of 14 samples of crumb rubber
22at Yale University and found that 96 chemicals were found in
23crumb rubber infill; of the 96 chemicals that were found, 20%

 

 

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1were carcinogenic, about 50% had not been tested for toxicity,
2and many had incomplete toxicity testing completed; another 40%
3were found to be skin and eye irritants and also causes of
4breathing problems; and
 
5    WHEREAS, New York and Connecticut-based studies found that
6crumb rubber infill "off-gassed" toxic chemicals; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Tire rubber is composed of 30% to 40% of "carbon
8black" which is suspected to being a cancer-causing agent; no
9studies regarding long-term exposure to carbon black on indoor
10or outdoor fields have been conducted; tires may also contain
11"carbon nanotubes" which some scientists believe may act
12similar to asbestos when inhaled into the lungs and cause
13cancer; and
 
14    WHEREAS, The crumb rubber industry and recycling
15industries tout crumb rubber as 100% safe, often referring to
16studies that have already been completed and statements made by
17the EPA and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in 2008;
18however, in 2013 CPSC Chairman Elliot Kay said his 2008 CPSC
19statement "does not reflect my view on the state of play. Safe
20to play on means something to parents that I don't think we
21intended to convey"; and
 
22    WHEREAS, On January 28, 2016, due to the lack of reliable

 

 

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1studies on the safety of crumb rubber, the CDC, EPA, and CPSC
2initiated a multi-agency plan to study the long-term effects of
3crumb rubber exposure on human health; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The use of crumb rubber is unregulated and lacks
5safety oversight by any governmental agency; furthermore,
6crumb rubber was excluded from classifications as a "children's
7product" and thus exempt from laws on chemicals "of high
8concern for children" found in children's products; and
 
9    WHEREAS, When applying crumb rubber to turf fields, workers
10are advised to wear respirators in order to protect them from
11inhaling crumb rubber dust; and
 
12    WHEREAS, There are no requirements to inform field users
13about the chemical content, associated risk, or precautionary
14guidelines regarding crumb rubber dust; parents are often told
15by the turf field owner that these fields are safe based on
16unreliable static air quality testing; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Citing the safety of its students, the Los Angeles
18Unified School District, the Los Angeles Parks and Recreation
19Department, the New York City Department of Parks and
20Recreation, the Chicago Public Schools, as well as other
21communities across the country have moved away from using crumb
22rubber infill in favor of a non-petroleum based alternative

 

 

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1infill for their turf fields like sand or cork; therefore, be
2it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the State of
5Illinois to monitor and, to the extent feasible, cooperate with
6the federal agencies that are studying the long-term effects of
7crumb rubber exposure on human health; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That we urge the owners and operators of any
9indoor or outdoor facility that has artificial turf containing
10crumb rubber infill and that is used by children between the
11ages of 18 months and 12 years to post at the facility a notice
12which (i) states that the facility uses an artificial turf with
13crumb rubber infill, (ii) informs users of the facility about
14the 2016 multi-agency federal crumb rubber study and about the
15possible chemical exposure to children playing on crumb rubber
16infill, and (iii) describes a location where additional
17information about the 2016 multi-agency federal crumb rubber
18study can be obtained.