September 27, 2015 – The Synthetic Turf Council (STC) has released the latest environmental guidelines for testing crumb rubber and other infills used in synthetic turf sports and recreation fields.
The STC selected European Standard EN 71-3, a widely recognized protocol which sets exacting limits for various elements, including heavy metals in children’s toys.
Although the STC does not consider synthetic turf infill as a children’s toy or product, EN 71-3 was adopted to address the safety of items that might be ingested by children. The EN 71-3 model specifies limits for different categories of materials and benchmarks the results against a maximum limit for heavy metals in toys. The purpose of the standard is to minimize children’s exposure to certain potentially toxic elements and to better understand the environmental and toxicological considerations when evaluating the material.
The STC states that if the required testing is performed and guidelines are met, a Certificate of Compliance may be issued by the infill supplier.
For more information and to download the guidelines, visit the STC website.
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