NBC News, October 9, 2014
On Thursday, Rep. Frank Pallone (D.-N.J.) sent a letter to the acting director of the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry asking for an official study on what effects exposure to the chemicals in crumb rubber turf fields might have on athletes. The ATSDR is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
"Crumb rubber has been known to contain carcinogens and chemicals, but there is an astounding lack of information on how this product affects our health," said Rep. Pallone in his letter to Robin Ikeda. "And yet, we send our young kids off to soccer practice and football practice to play on turf fields made of this very substance. … More research must be done to protect the safety of public health."