Turf Field's Safety Again Questioned

Barnegat residents continued to question the safety and wisdom of the township’s move to on Monday night, despite assurances from a FieldTurf representative that the field will be safe.

Bill Bamber, regional sales manager for FieldTurf, the company donating the field, responded to questions from several residents at the beginning of the public comment portion of the meeting.

Most of those questions centered on concerns about the safety of having children play on a turf field, including concerns about lead contamination, overheating and injury potential, as well as liability to the township.

Bamber said there is no lead in the FieldTurf fields.

“Our product is made of polyethylene,” Bamber said in reply to the questions about lead. The fibers that make up the “grass” of the turf are polyethylene, and the cushioning of the turf is crumbled rubber – from recycled truck and car tires – mixed with silica sand.

The donated field has approximately five more years of useful life, Bamber said, a claim contested by a resident who said he’d researched it and found that the company’s warranty covered only eight years.

“In a year that warranty will run out,” the man said. “What then?”

Bamber said the company, which has installed more than 7,000 turf fields in 14 years, has more than 800 currently in use that are eight to 11 years old. According to the company's website, 21 of the 32 National Football League teams play and/or practice on FieldTurf fields, and the Super Bowl, BCS National Championship games, World Cup soccer matches and the World Series have been played on FieldTurf fields.

The donated field came from the U.S. Naval Academy’s football stadium, and was removed because the academy is upgrading to the newest technology, Bamber said outside the meeting. It had light use during the time it was in use in Annapolis, he said, and is in excellent shape.

“I walked it at least a half-dozen times,” he said. The Naval Academy just “wanted the latest and greatest, and because the alumni association is paying for it, they can afford it.”

Maintenance of a turf field also is significantly cheaper than grass, Bamber said.

“To care for a grass field properly, it needs to be mowed, watered, seeded, aerated; you’re talking $30,000 per year minimum,” he said.

Steve Cotton, president of the Barnegat Bengals American Youth Football organization and a resident, whose company installs turf fields, said there was a year of research done on the safety of the FieldTurf fields with regard to children’s health, and there were no issues found.

“I would put my children on it, that’s how sure I am of its safety,” said Cotton, who has three children, ages 17, 13 and 10. Cotton, who said he asked FieldTurf to donate the field in the first place, has said he would donate his time to install the field as well as to maintain it, which involves fluffing the fibers every six to eight weeks.

Some residents spoke up right from their seats, not even walking up to the microphone.

One resident raised concerns about liability to the township if a child is injured playing on the surface, wanting to know if Bamber and FieldTurf would be held liable if a problem with the turf was cited as cause of the injury. Bamber said FieldTurf has never been sued over an injury.

Residents also asked how much it would cost to have the field removed when it is no longer of use. Bamber said it costs about $1 per square foot to have it removed by the company — a cost of $100,000 for the field in question.

Barnegat Mayor Al Cirulli noted the township would look to volunteers to remove the field when that time arises.

The township paid $28,000 through Open Space funds for the field to be transported to the township from Annapolis, Maryland.

The township has received bids for the foundation that the turf field will be installed upon at the recreation complex on Lower Shore Road, acting municipal clerk Sharon Auer said and is reviewing them. No timetable was available for how soon the installation will take place.

Bamber said during the meeting that residents who want more information on the research done on the FieldTurf fields can find it through the Penn State University Center for Sports Surface Research.