Editor:
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department is planning to use artificial turf in the renovation of the Crocker/Amazon playing fields.
Artificial turf should never have been used in the playing fields of Golden Gate Park and it should not be used in the renovation of the Crocker/Amazon playing fields. It is toxic, pollutes the environment and poses a danger to all San Franciscans. Plastic grass continually sheds microplastics and can’t be recycled or disposed of in a landfill.
Micro-plastic pollution is a threat to all life on the planet. (See “Microplastics in Clouds Could Be Contaminating Nearly Everything We Eat and Drink: Study” By Brett Wilkins commondreams.org, Sept. 29. 2023).
“Scientists have shown that both the grass-like blades and the backing of artificial turf contain PFAS, highly toxic fluorinated chemicals. PFAS are known as “forever chemical” since they accumulate in the body and do not break down. They have been linked to endocrine disruption and cancer. Children are especially vulnerable to harm from PFAS because of their developing bodies and the chemicals’ persistence in the body. In a recent New York Times Op Ed piece (What Are Sperm Telling Us?), we read that ‘Chemical companies are as reckless as tobacco companies were a generation ago, or as opioid manufacturers were a decade ago. Most people think manufacturers must prove that chemicals are safe before they put them on the market. They are wrong.” – Real Grass for Healthy Kids! greenwichfreepress.com, March 12, 2021.
You can see the news on the dangers of plastics in our environment most Sundays in the San Francisco Chronicle in Earthweek: Diary of a Changing World, by Steve Newman:
- “A new study (by University of Rhode Island scientists) finds the microplastic pollution that now permeates the planet can travel to the brain and cause behavioral changes.” – Week ending, Sept. 22, 2023.
- “Studies have found that microplastic pollution is accumulating not only in our arteries, but also in all 62 human placentas examined … the particles have also recently been found in human blood and breast milk, which indicates we are being exposed to the pollution on a massive scale, as are other creatures. ‘If we’re seeing effects on placentas, then all mammalian life on this planet could be impacted,’ said lead researcher Matthew Campen of the University of New Mexico.'” – week ending March 1, 2024.
- “Microplastics are crossing the blood-brain barrier and accumulating in human brains, according to a new study published in Nature Medicine.” – week ending Feb. 7, 2025.
The long-term health of our parks, playing fields and the people who play on them is not served by plastic grass and rubberized surfaces. We should use natural grass turf.
The Rec & Park Commission is meeting this Thursday, Feb. 19, at 10 a.m. at City Hall, room 416. The Commission will discuss artificial turf with Rec & Park officials. You can call in your comments. And if you can’t do that, email your comments to the commission by Wednesday. (recpark.commission@sfgov.org)
David Romano
Categories: letter to the editor
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 
Public discussion about environmental and public health is important, particularly when it involves community parks and children’s playing fields. However, claims that modern artificial turf is “toxic” and poses a proven danger to public health are not supported by the weight of current scientific evidence.
Artificial turf systems installed today are subject to federal and state chemical regulations and are routinely tested for heavy metals and other substances of concern. Multiple reviews conducted over the past decade by agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, and state environmental departments have not concluded that artificial turf poses a systemic health risk to users. The presence of materials such as polyethylene fibers does not automatically translate into harmful exposure levels.
Concerns about PFAS are often raised in these discussions. While certain legacy materials used in some industrial processes historically contained PFAS compounds, modern turf specifications increasingly require PFAS-free components. Importantly, the detection of trace compounds in materials is not the same as demonstrating harmful human exposure. Risk assessments focus on exposure pathways—ingestion, inhalation, and dermal contact—and to date, evidence has not shown that playing on synthetic turf results in unsafe PFAS exposure levels.
Microplastics are a global environmental issue associated with a wide range of sources, including vehicle tire wear, synthetic textiles, packaging, and urban runoff. The studies frequently cited about microplastics in air, water, or human tissue examine worldwide environmental contamination. They do not identify athletic fields as a primary source of exposure, nor do they demonstrate that the use of artificial turf fields is causing measurable health effects in park users. Conflating broad global plastic pollution concerns with a specific recreational surface oversimplifies a complex issue.
It is also important to acknowledge that natural grass fields are not impact-free. Maintaining heavily used grass fields in urban environments typically requires substantial irrigation, fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, and fuel-powered maintenance equipment. Artificial turf eliminates pesticide use, dramatically reduces water consumption, and allows significantly greater field usage without deterioration. For many municipalities, the choice is driven by the need to provide consistent, year-round access for community sports programs.
None of this suggests that environmental stewardship should be ignored. Cities should continue to require robust stormwater controls, prioritize PFAS-free materials, and ensure responsible end-of-life management of field systems. Ongoing research and transparency are essential. But public policy decisions should be grounded in evidence specific to the product under consideration, not in generalized concerns about plastics.
A balanced, science-based discussion will better serve both the health of our communities and the sustainability of our public spaces.
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Plastic grass (synthetic turf) is subject to high temperatures; it is scratched and degraded from use, and it deteriorates over time due to exposure to the elements. Such surfaces continually release micro-particles of plastic into the environment. Grass converts carbon dioxide to oxygen: as a planet, we are in desperate need of more oxygen and less carbon dioxide. Artificial turf converts oxygen to considerable amounts of carbon dioxide and monoxide during its manufacturing processes, during shipping and delivery, and during installation.
Artificial turf actually increases water use. Plastic grass has to be washed regularly to stay clean. This water is not allowed to go into the ground because it is toxic; has to go into into the stormwater drains and is lost. Grass allows water to go into the ground where it replenishes the aquifer. Best practices gardening uses organic fertilizers and doesn’t need pesticides for grass. We want more gardeners. We want a living environment not a dead plastic world brought to us by profit-seeking corporations and their politician friends. Concerned Citizen needs to be more concerned about our environment and health and less concerned about promoting the artificial turf industry.
In the May/June (2020) issue of San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s newsletter, Currents, there is a report on “Our Sewer System’s Secret Weapon.” The article talks about how, “…during large rain events, stormwater and wastewater volumes exceed the capacity of our pipes, causing overflow and discharge of excess wastewater to local waterways. This can carry pollutants and debris to the Bay or Pacific Ocean that are harmful to the environment.” The article goes on to talk about how “Green infrastructure … works to alleviate this problem by slowing down the rate in which stormwater goes into the sewer system.” Some examples of “Green Infrastructure” are rain gardens, permeable pavement and green roofs.
The Beach Chalet Soccer Fields (BCSF) in Golden Gate Park used to have a permeable surface; it’s called grass. The Crocker/Amazon playing could still have this amazing, life-supporting permeable surface called grass if San Francisco does the right thing. Rainwater and water from irrigation filters through the grass to replenish the groundwater supply. Now, after the renovation of the Soccer Fields by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department (SFRPD), instead of grass there are seven acres of artificial turf. The area has been effectively paved over. The run-off from the artificial turf is so toxic it can’t be allowed to enter the ground but, instead, has to go into the sewer system. The SFPUC is committed to preventing overflow in the sewer system with its “Green Infrastructure” projects, yet the decision by the SFRPD to pave over the Soccer Fields was made without opposition from the SFPUC.
I raised my concerns about contamination of the groundwater supply with the SFPUC in 2018. I received a reply from John Scarpulla, Policy and Government Affairs, that said, in part, “The environmental review process for the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields documented that the soccer field is designed and was constructed with an underlying liner and a drainage system to prevent any potentially toxic materials from infiltrating into the groundwater basin. The storm water that drains from the soccer fields is directed into our wastewater treatment system and is not allowed to infiltrate into the groundwater.”
Certainly, it’s good that run-off from the Soccer Fields (or Crocker/Amazon) is not going into the ground but, it is going into the sewer system and that is not in accord with the goal of “Green Infrastructure” to reduce the load on the sewer system from run-off. Unfortunately, there is still the danger of toxins entering the groundwater supply because tire crumb is migrating from the Soccer Fields into the surrounding parkland where there is no lining to prevent contaminated water from entering the aquifer. This has been going on since the fields were installed and a considerable amount of tire crumb would have migrated over the past ten years.
The SFPUC’s mission is to protect the water supply and environment of San Francisco, not to further the interests of the artificial turf industry. There is nothing good and potentially a lot of bad that can result from the installation of artificial turf at the Crocker/Amazon playing fields. Frequent earthquakes are the norm in California and could cause damage to the drainage system allowing toxic run-off to infiltrate the groundwater. If this were to occur, there is no easy way to get the toxins out of the water supply. In addition, the entire field will need to be ripped up and replaced in a few years creating even more chances for environmental contamination.
“After decades of study, scientists in Washington state believe they know what’s been killing Coho salmon. It’s us. Chemicals embedded in manufactured rubber are killing salmon quickly, but they may also be hurting our children slowly.
Coho salmon attract researchers because they are harbingers. They provide early indicators of general environmental conditions. Like the proverbial canary in a coal mine, salmon feel deleterious effects from toxicity before others. They give us an early warning signal.
Those early signals can be delayed by complexities. In this current discovery, it wasn’t even one of the thousands of elements present that harmed the fish. It was a new element produced when two other elements interacted.
An antioxidant used in tire rubber, 6PPD, reacts with ozone to form 6PPD-quinone. Salmon ingest the resultant chemical via microplastics produced by abrasion — where the rubber meets the road. The same chemical is used in bicycle tires and latex paint, so we’re all contributing to the demise.
Thousands of chemicals are used to manufacture modern tires. Many are never revealed to scientists, regulators or the public. They are protected as “trade secrets.” We cannot assess what dangers they present until (in this case) scientists used liquid chromatography mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance to analyze each individual compound present.”
These rubberized surfaces are also planned for the playgrounds of Crocker/Amazon. Our children deserve better.
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Dear OneWorld, please provide backup to the claims that “Artificial turf actually increases water use. Plastic grass has to be washed regularly to stay clean. This water is not allowed to go into the ground because it is toxic”.
Frankly, I’ve never heard something so preposterous. I’ll be waiting for the proof to this outlandish claim which highlights how the rest of your points are also fictitious and without merit.
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It is fabulous that this letter to the editor was published. It helps to educate community members about what is going on in their city and hopefully will alert all who read this to the fact that they need to get involved if they believe in the mission of those opposing artificial turf at Crocker Amazon Park.
I’m urging all of you who are concerned about your and your family’s health and harmful environmental impacts, as well, to email the Parks and Rec dept. and even show up in person or call in remotely to comment. The more they hear from concerned citizens, the better chance of success for those who are working so hard to protect all of you!
We are losing too many natural, healthy places for people to congregate, enjoy and even play sports.
AW – concerned citizen
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We live in a densely populated city where the majority of fields in grass surfaced parks do not drain and are immediately rendered unplayable during the rainy season, which has much overlap with the youth sports spring and fall seasons. The artificial turf fields at Beach Chalet, Kimbell, and Crocker-Amazon are an incredibly important resource due to their lighting, large surfaces, and reliable playability. Swapping these surfaces out for grass would render their facilities virtually useless.
Put another way, if the author of this letter and his supporters get what they want, they will be forcing thousands of kids who should be outside getting exercise inside in front of their screens. I don’t see any serious concern for the people who would be most affected by his plan (kids), rather more of the self-indulgent virtue signaling by special interests that has made San Francisco governance a joke.
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It is sad to think that some people think it is beyond the bounds of possibility that San Francisco could actually maintain a grass field. San Francisco Rec and Park spread this propaganda when both Phil Ginsburg and Dan Maurer, in a clear conflict of interest, sat on the Board of City Fields Foundation, the main proponent of plastic grass. The SF Giants play on grass, The 49ers play on grass, Tunnel Top Park has acres of grass, the Polo Field is a natural grass field. You can have well-drained, organically fertilized, gopher-netted playing fields, usable all year long except for one problem; there’s money to be made in artificial turf and no money to be made in natural grass.
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