Middle School Fields / RecPlex

No state agency or state authority shall provide funding for the purchase, use or installation of artificial turf that contains zinc, plastic or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for any new or existing field after October 1, 2023.

Bill S.2057 No municipality, including, but not limited to, any school district, state department, or state agency, shall enter a contract for the purchase, use, or installation of artificial turf for a new or existing field. Artificial turf fields that have been already installed may remain in use, but shall not be replaced with artificial turf.

159 public water systems in 81 Massachusetts cities and towns—from the Berkshires to the Cape—have tested above the Maximum Containment Level (MCL) of PFAS in their drinking water.

“We’ve always warned people that there are hazards of using artificial turf,” said Sarah Evans, an assistant professor of environmental medicine and public health at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. “Natural grass is a safer alternative across the board.” Concerns regarding artificial turf have spurred some states and local governments to take action: New York has banned the sale of artificial turf with PFAS, starting at the end of 2026. And bills prohibiting the purchase of new artificial turf fields in certain places, such as schools, have been introduced in Massachusetts and Vermont.

Based on NFL injury data collected from 2012 to 2018, not only was the contact injury rate for lower extremities higher during practices and games held on artificial turf, NFL players consistently experienced a much higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries on turf compared to natural surfaces. Specifically, players have a 28% higher rate of non-contact lower extremity injuries when playing on artificial turf. Of those non-contact injuries, players have a 32% higher rate of non-contact knee injuries on turf and a staggering 69% higher rate of non-contact foot/ankle injuries on turf compared to grass.

“In 2024, the last thing we should be doing is putting down acres of a plastic fossil fuel product … with chemicals that are going to get all over athletes’ skin, and into soil and water,” Bennett said. “It just boggles my mind that people are still considering using this stuff.”

The price to install artificial turf is staggering. Particularly in these economic times, our money should be spent on fields that help our youth and adult players stay active without putting their health or the environment at risk.

An environmental group says artificial grass is filled with PFAS, also known as forever chemicals that have been linked to cancer.

So let’s begin with the easy answer: the standard lifespan of a field is approximately eight years.

Now, there’s a dollar amount attached to the mess: $875,000. That’s how much officials say it will cost to replace the field’s turf and undo the damage the Festeja Boston festival has caused, according to the Eagle-Tribune.