In previous postings, I addressed emerging adverse health issues related to two metals: zinc and manganese. Lead, unlike those substances, is a hazard so well known and so widely recognized that most people reasonably assume the problem has long since been addressed. Lead in house paint, in ceramic glazes, in solder, in batteries - and especially in all the jobs that produce these everyday products - has been a key source of poisonings past. Sadly though, lead has been finding important novel forms in which to raise its specter anew. It's like the bad sequel to a grade-B horror film better not seen in the first place.
Lead is a toxic metal. It has no natural role in human biological functioning. This was clear even in antiquity, when a classic Roman architecture text argued that clay was preferable to lead for water pipes, because plumbers so obviously were made sick by their trade. Times change. The ideal landscape in the ancient world might have included a verdant garden, but ancient architects never foresaw the lead-laden green hue of artificial turf.
Lead-contaminated artificial turf was first reported more than a year ago, when the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified the problem, more or less by accident. Testing a playing field for possible lead contamination from a nearby factory, it was discovered that air pollution was not at issue, but that the green-grass color of the synthetic turf was thanks to a toxic pigment, lead chromate. Further sampling showed that this was standard in the nylon or nylon/polyethylene blends of synthetic turf that dominate the market. The CDC reassured the public that lead-contamination was only a potential problem for turf that was dusty, outdoors, and used a lot. The CDC did not hazard a guess as to how many of the athletic fields across the U.S.A. might fit this bill. For prevention, the CDC boldly suggested vigorous hand washing for children younger than six who played on ersatz lawns.
