Pittsburgh's Liberty Tire Recycling Applauds Study Validating Safety Of Crumb Rubber Infill

Pittsburgh-based Liberty Tire Recycling this week praised the findings of a recently released U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study showing crumb rubber infill used in athletic fields and playground surfaces has concentrations of materials below levels considered harmful.

"The EPA is the latest agency to come to the same conclusion: Crumb rubber used in artificial turf or as a playground surface poses no significant health or environmental risk," said Jeffrey Kendall, chairman and CEO of Liberty Tire Recycling. "At Liberty Tire Recycling, we have been very concerned by recent headlines suggesting the opposite is true. Parents, business owners, public policy makers and elected officials deserve to know the facts, and they now have the facts from the authority on these matters."

The EPA conducted its field study from August through October 2008 and took samples from multiple locations in different parts of the country.

"We welcome the EPA's decision to review all new studies on this matter, studies that have been conducted since the EPA launched its review," continued Kendall. "In state after state and in study after study, researchers have confirmed that crumb rubber is safe."

Kendall pointed to two other recently completed independent studies:

-- A California EPA study from July 2009 found no significant health risk to people who breathe the air above synthetic turf that contains crumb rubber. The study looked at the chemicals found in the air above the turf and the chemicals found in the air upwind from the fields that were analyzed. The conclusion: The chemicals were found in similar concentrations in both samples.

-- A May 2009 study by the New York departments of Environmental Conservation and Health found that crumb rubber used in synthetic turf fields poses no significant environmental threat or health concerns.

"People have a right to be concerned about their health and the health and safety of their children," added Kendall. "The findings of these studies and the EPA study should ease any concerns that people might have about products that are made from recycled rubber tires. They're safe."

Kendall also highlighted the many environmental and safety benefits offered by the use of recycled rubber on athletic fields and playgrounds:

-- Recycled rubber that is used as a playground surface promotes safety because it does not decompose or blow away. It is non-toxic and does not harbor insects or mold.

-- A six-inch layer of rubber safety surfacing can cushion a child's fall from as high as twelve feet.

-- Each year, products made from recycled rubber prevent 25 million used tires from ending up in landfills across the country.

-- Replacing a grass field with a synthetic athletic field made of rubber can save as much as 50,000 gallons of water per week during the peak growing season and also eliminates the need to use fertilizers and pesticides.

Liberty Tire Recycling continues to reclaim a third of the nation's scrap tire production and reuse the material as recycled rubber. The recycled rubber can then be transformed into smart, sustainable products that make people's lives better and safer.

"From safer playground surfaces and decorative rubber mulch to materials used in road paving projects, Liberty Tire Recycling is pleased to be on the cutting edge of transforming rubber tires into the raw materials that become versatile, useful products for the consumer," added Kendall.

Beyond a wide array of recycling processes, Liberty Tire Recycling also works with municipalities and governments across the nation to perform remediation services at scrap tire piles that pose environmental and health risks.

A copy of the EPA study is available online.