San Mateo County Grand Jury
• 2016-2017
Should Tire-derived Products Be Used on Athletic Fields in San Mateo County Schools?
⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
Of the 23 San Mateo County school districts, the following 16 reported to have fields that will require replacement in the next 5 years: • Bayshore Elementary School District • Belmont-Redwood Shores School District • Brisbane School District • Burlingame School District • Cabrillo Unified School District • Hillsborough City School District • Jefferson Elementary School District • Jefferson Union High School District • Las Lomitas Elementary School District • Millbrae School District • Portola Valley School District • Redwood City School District • San Carlos School District • San Mateo Union High School District • Sequoia Union High School District • South San Francisco Unified School District 76 SportsGrass.com. http://sportsgrass.com/ 77 Cornell University, Sports Field Management. http://safesportsfields.cals.cornell.edu/grasses-for-sports-fields.
Related Recommendations (4)
R1
Produce written guidelines for the decision-making process involved in field installation and replacement, which shall include the following:
R1a
Consider the uncertainty regarding the safety of tire-derived products used on school fields, particularly crumb rubber.
R1b
Evaluate and make their decisions on policy development and field replacements based on current scientific evidence regarding the use of crumb rubber on athletic fields as it becomes available, whether or not the EPA report is complete.
R1c
Undertake measures to increase community involvement during the field replacement evaluation process, including discussion regarding potential concerns about the safety of crumb rubber or other tire-derived products. This could be similar to the 2013 City of San Mateo study regarding the possibility of using artificial turf on its fields, which included extensive public outreach for comment, using post cards, email, website comment, community workshops and capture surveys to solicit and collect public input.
F2
The total installation costs for each artificial turf field infilled with crumb rubber equal approximately $2.5 million - $3.7 million; the total installation costs for each natural grass field are approximately $2.0 million - $2.5 million. The annual maintenance costs for each artificial turf field infilled with crumb rubber equal approximately $10,600 per field, per year; the annual maintenance costs for each grass field equal approximately $2850 per field, per year.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
Consider (among other factors) the following when selecting materials for their athletic fields and playgrounds: 1. Safety to humans and animals 2. Suitability based upon the location’s intended use and frequency of use 3. Cost (of installation and lifecycle requirements) and manufacturer warranty.
F3
High demand for field use by schools and community groups is one reason why some school districts favor the installation of artificial turf fields instead of grass.
Related Recommendations (1)
R3
Impose a moratorium on the utilization of artificial turf with crumb rubber infill until the Environmental Protection Agency concludes its study or until all the policies listed above have been implemented.
F4
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “studies to date have not shown an elevated health risk from playing on fields with tire crumb rubber, but these studies have limitations and do not comprehensively evaluate the concerns about health risks from exposure to tire crumb rubber.”
No recommendations for this finding
F5
The San Mateo County Office of Education reported that it is the responsibility of each school district’s Board of Trustees and Superintendent to develop policies regarding the issue of athletic field installation or replacement.
No recommendations for this finding
F6
The San Mateo-Foster City School District and the San Mateo Union High School District have written policies regarding school construction and renovations, but neither has written guidelines or policies governing the decision-making process for constructing or replacing athletic fields.
No recommendations for this finding
No Responses Found 2
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District
School District
San Mateo Union High School District
School District