Progress Being Made on Synthetic Turf Field
This article was previously posted on April 10,2015 in the Plainville Observer. This article is not the property of The Tinty Foundation.
By LISA CAPOBIANCO
STAFF WRITER
Progress continues for the turf field project, as town officials have prepared to seek bids for two types of in-fills for the field.
During their last meeting held March 24, members of the Community Turf Committee agreed to issue two bid requests one for a crumb rubber infill, and another one for the Thermoplastic elastomers (TPE) as an alternate.
Town Manager Robert Lee, who serves on the committee, said the town will compare the costs of the two different field options before making a final decision.
Used in the majority of synthetic turf fields, crumb rubber is made from recycled and ground up tires.
Also known as thermoplastic rubbers, TPE is derived from an environmentally inert material that is both heavy metal and vinyl free, according to the committee’s meeting minutes from March 24. In addition, TPE is recyclable and particularly used for injection molding.
“[TPE] is not crumb rubber,” said Lee.
Kitching said TPE was the only alternative recommended by consultants, who noted a variety of performance and maintenance issues of other alternative infills, including each of the organic options.
“This option is still a rubber product but is manufactured specifically for this purpose, not reclaimed from tires,” said Kitching. “To the best of my knowledge, and of those consulting on the project, there is no scientific evidence that TPE is any different from the standard infill.”
“They wanted to choose something as low maintenance as possible,” said Lee, adding that TPE also was less expensive than other options the committee studied.
Late last year, some local residents expressed concern for use of the crumb rubber infill after health scares of the material made national headlines.
As previously reported by NBC, a soccer coach from the University of Washington noticed two of her former goalie keepers who were diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after playing on an artificial turf field, and heard of other athletes with similar stories.
As the committee itself has conducted research on the possible health risks of synthetic turf fields, Lee said the majority of studies showed no connection between crumb rubber and cancer.
“The state Department of Public Health indicated no connection between crumb rubber and health risks,” said Lee, adding that the Environmental Protection Agency also reported no health risks of crumb rubber.
Since December, the committee has worked with consultants from Kaestle-Boos LLC to prepare the design and construction documents for the project. Since the end of March, documents required to go out to bid were 90 percent complete, said Kitching.
Kitching said the process for choosing a contractor for the project is expected to begin late this month and end in early May.
Installation of the field is expected to begin in June and to be completed by the time the next football season begins.
“This will allow the project to stay on a timeline for competition by early September,” said Kitching.
Made up of representatives from the Board of Education, Plainville Little League, Parks and Recreation Commission, town officials, and more, the Community Turf Field Committee “has a good cross-section of the community involved,” said Lee.
“They’ve worked well in an expeditious fashion,” said Lee.
Late last year, the Town Council approved the acceptance of a $950,000 state grant sought out by State Rep. Betty Boukus to fund the field replacement at Plainville High School. In December, the Tinty Foundation gave the district a private donation of $500,000, which will help cover costs for a new synthetic turf softball/ multi-purpose field at the high school.
“[This] has greatly enhanced what we’re going to be able to do out there,” said Lee. “People are starting to get excited about it.”