Mother Nature can be annoying for some athletes when the weather doesn’t cooperate on game-day. One of the major reasons many collegiate and professional sports are being played on artificial turf is an attempt to take Mother Nature out of the equation. 
“It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature” was a line used in a commercial many years ago showing the wrath of Mother Nature when Chiffon was able to create a spread that tasted just like butter. However, on June 25, 2008, Jane Akre posted an article on InjuryBoard that used this tagline in her exploration of the potential harmful effects of the lead that shows up in the artificial turf on athletic fields.
http://feeds.injuryboard.com/IBNationalNews is a website dedicated to personal safety, injury prevention and recovery. Their interest in the lead in artificial turf is because, as Akre points out, the CDC (Center for Disease Control) estimates that lead levels are elevated in more than 300,000 children in this country. The real concern comes because tests have revealed lower IQ scores, memory problems, hyperactivity and behavioral problems in children who have had excessive lead exposure.
Earlier this year New Jersey health officials unexpectedly found lead in three fields with artificial turf. As a result, the CDC, along with an environmental group recommends that any athletic fields constructed from nylon need to be tested for lead because it is a potential neurotoxin.
They also recommended that fields with visible dust on them should be tested because of the possibility that the dust can be inhaled or swallowed by anyone using the field. Athletes could ingest the lead through contact with skin, contact with the turf or even hand to mouth contact.
Akre also points out that the CDC indicates that the lead levels are not high enough to poison people using the fields, but it can cause increased damage to those previously exposed to lead. Therefore, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) started an investigation earlier this year into synthetic turf and the health risks associated with playing on them.
Until the results of the testing are in, the CDC recommends that athletes wash their hands and shower immediately after playing on artificial turf, as well as turning uniforms inside out and washing them separately from other clothes. They even go so far as to recommend removing athletic shoes when entering the house and leaving them outside.
Not only is it not nice to fool Mother Nature, in the case of artificial turf, it could be dangerous to your health!
