QUESTION FAKE GRASS in LGUSD.

Below is a March 2022 letter to LGUSD from  Mt. Sinai's Children's Environmental Health Center . Because there are significant gaps in the evidence supporting the safety of artificial turf products and because children are uniquely vulnerable to harmful exposures from artificial turf surfaces, a moratorium is recommended on the use of artificial turf where children play. "Few studies have assessed potential chemical exposures from the artificial grass blades and backing  materials used on synthetic playing fields. A recent study identified perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFAS), a  class of chemicals linked to numerous health problems including cancer, nervous system toxicity,  immune dysfunction, thyroid, and cardiovascular disease in the plastic grass blades and backing used  on artificial turf fields." "While it is important to maximize safe play time, we caution against the use of materials which carry the risks of chemical and heat exposure outlined above or have ...

Adequate risk assessment studies of the safety of artificial turf have NOT been conducted. D ig deeper than the marketing claims provided by the artificial turf industry to learn what chemicals artificial turf products contain and what the potential long-term health risks may be.  (If you're in LGUSD, while you may disregard the cautions about recycled tires since LGUSD is proposing an alternative infill material, plenty of chemical concerns remain for the products LGUSD is proposing.) Who do you trust?  Mt. Sinai's Children's Environmental Health Center or misguided (albeit well-meaning) influencers parroting the marketing tactics used by the synthetic turf industry?

If UCSF says we shouldn’t expose children to the heat and chemical repercussions of plastic grass… feels like we should listen. Pediatric health is so important. As parents, we put our children’s well-being before our own. Full letter below. CliffsNotes: Doctors at UCSF do not support the installation of artificial turf at LGUSD schools even if an alternative to crumb rubber is chosen for infill. Increased injury rates, staph infections, and heat index (up to 160 degrees).  Concern regarding children’s exposure, dermal and ingestion, to artificial turf surfaces, with PFAS being of particular concern.  

Students at LGUSD's Lexington Elementary  practice, as explained at ibo.org , being knowledgeable,  open-minded, reflective, critical thinkers. As educators and parents, we know that "everybody else is doing it" is not a valid justification for anything. And, just like we all tell our kids:   In actuality , it is NOT true that "everybody else is doing it"... How does that lesson apply here? Schools and municipalities are NOT all following the masses, succumbing to sales pitches, and proceeding with artificial turf installations. Some are pausing to ask themselves if this is really a wise choice?  Especially in light of expert insights that were not yet available back when  other schools and municipalities chose to install them ?   For example, in 2005 when the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District (LGSUHSD) installed one of its first artificial turf fields, it was not widely known how much lead was in some of the fields.  As another example, in...

Two of the experts:  Dr. Graham Peaslee ( i mage from  nd.edu ) ,  Concurrent Professor of Chemistry & Biochemistry and Professor of Physics, University of Notre Dame   and Kyla Bennett (image from peer.org ),  Director of Science Policy at  PEER PFAS chemicals ("forever chemicals" being banned in various products) are just one of the major concerns related to toxicity of artificial turf.   Below, Dr. Graham Peaslee explains in detail why the PFAS in artificial turf should be a major concern.   T he implications for children's contact with the "grass" fibers is yet unknown, but what IS known is that they could contaminate our waterways and contaminate our drinking water . Dr. Kyla Bennett speaks after Dr. Peaslee to further explain. PFAS has been found in all the fields they have tested.   Dr. Bennett refutes one of the industry experts' assertions that PFAS are safe.   Dr. Bennett concludes with: " I do not understand the sentime...

Image of plastic turf dumped near a wetland from a coalition in a town that now has a moratorium on artificial turf installations . Yes, this is the same Dr. Debbie Tatro that has  taken issue with the artificial turf safety assertions provided by LGUSD's consultant , David Teter. Here is Dr. Tatro's letter to the LGUSD school board:

Image from student Ryan Basso's " The Balance of Opinion " LGUSD district management staff  continue to insist artificial turf is safe d espite assertions from experts and government agencies that it is  premature to conclude artificial turf is safe. LGUSD's conclusion of safety is based, seemingly entirely, on the word of the sole consultant they hired explicitly to provide safety reassurances, David Teter.   Why are district management staff: neglecting to seek out and consider the input of at least one of the  experts that finds it  premature to conclude artificial turf is safe? failing to acknowledge concerns that clearly continue to be held by government agencies?  failing to acknowledge the narrow context of Teter's product analysis? so willing to adopt Teter's advice knowing that not only was  he hired by the artificial turf industry to get  one of our state agencies  to dismiss its concerns, he actually  failed  to do so?...

Image from Mt. Sinai CEHC . The  Children’s Environmental Health Center of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai   strongly discourages artificial turf installations. While the letter below is addressed to another set of decision-makers in another community (yes, there are many communities across the country beseeching their electeds to take a pause before pulling this trigger), these points aren't specific to the community the letter is addressed to.

Posted with his permission, here is the message of an 11/9/21 letter to the LGUSD school board from a Daves Avenue parent... Dear Terese, Mrs. Mittleman, and all others concerned, Thank you for hosting the town hall session last night. I know a lot of work has gone into this by you and your team. Here are the thoughts I left the meeting with – first, 2 general notes about the process, and then 2 specific notes about the plans for Daves Avenue… [For those that don’t know me, I’m a designer (and licensed architect in 5 states) and a dad of 3 girls – one at Daves now and 2 more to follow in the years ahead.] General Notes Transparency - It would be great if the district’s designs could be posted at each of the schools for review by current parents, students, and even community members that may have future students. As is, the plans are hard to read and visualize (even for someone working in the architecture industry). Sadly, combining these issues with the lack of transparent communicatio...