Is Artificial Turf Toxic?
Federal agencies studied it. The EPA says CDC, ATSDR and the EPA, with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, launched the Federal Research Action Plan on the use of tire crumbs in playing fields in February 2016 to address public concerns about exposures from recycled tire rubber infill.
Part 1 of the research, released July 25, 2019, detected a range of metals, semivolatile organic compounds, volatile organic compounds and bacteria in recycled tire crumb rubber infill, as expected, according to the EPA. Part 2, released April 16, 2024, found that during active play at outdoor fields, concentrations of many chemicals in air were not different from background samples, while some, such as methyl isobutyl ketone, benzothiazole, 4-tert-butyl phenol and several PAHs, were somewhat higher, and that many chemicals were at higher concentrations at the indoor field than at the outdoor fields.
In the biomonitoring pilot, the EPA says metals measured in blood were similar to the general population, and PAH metabolites in urine did not differ between people using synthetic turf fields and people using grass fields. The New York State Department of Health says results from numerous studies suggest the potential for chemical exposures from crumb rubber in synthetic turf is low, with further studies underway.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- Government sourceThe EPA says CDC, ATSDR and the EPA, with the CPSC, launched the Federal Research Action Plan on tire crumbs in playing fields in February 2016 in response to public concerns about exposures. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe EPA says the Part 1 report, released July 25, 2019, detected a range of metals, semivolatile and volatile organic compounds and bacteria in recycled tire crumb rubber infill. US EPA ↗
- StudyThe EPA says during active play at outdoor fields many chemicals in air did not differ from background, while methyl isobutyl ketone, benzothiazole, 4-tert-butyl phenol and several PAHs were somewhat higher. US EPA ↗
- StudyThe EPA says many chemicals were found at higher concentrations in air samples at the indoor field compared with the outdoor fields. US EPA ↗
- StudyIn the EPA's biomonitoring pilot, blood metals were similar to the general population and urine PAH metabolites did not differ between synthetic turf users and grass field users. US EPA ↗
- Government sourceThe New York State Department of Health says numerous studies suggest the potential for chemical exposures from crumb rubber in synthetic turf is low, with further studies underway. New York State Department of Health ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.