arms
of turf
By ANGELA DEW SANTI
Associated Press Writer
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The
U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission is looking into the
possible health hazards of lead in
artificial turf installed at schools,
parks and stadiums across the
country.
Two fields in New Jersey were
closed this week after state health
officials detected what they said
were unexpectedly high levels of
lead in the synthetic turf and raised
fears that athletes could swallow or
inhale fibers or dust from the playing
surface.
The artificial-turf industry denied
its products are dangerous. But the
CPSC it is investigating.
"We have a great deal of interest
into any consumer product that could
be used by children where children
could potentially be in harm's way
because of lead exposure," CPSC
spokesman Scott Wolfson said.
The United States has about 3,500
synthetic playing fields made of
various materials, including nylon
and polyethylene, and about 800
are installed each year at schools,
colleges, parks and stadiums,
according to the industry's Synthetic
Turf Council. Artificial turf was once
a luxury reserved for professional
sports teams, but its use has exploded
in recent years as a way to save costs
and reduce water use.
Pigment containing lead chromate
is used in some surfaces to make
the grass green and hold its color
in sunlight. But it is not clear how
widely the compound is used. The
New Jersey Health Department
found lead in both of the nylon
fields it tested, but in none of the 10
polyethylene surfaces it examined.
New Jersey found itself at the
• isarefront of the issue after state
health authorities stumbled onto the
lead while investigating whether
runoff from a scrap-metal operation
in Newark had contaminated an
adjacent playing field.
New Jersey's epidemiologist, Dr.
Eddy Bresnitz, said fibers and dust
created through wear and weathering
might become airborne, where they
could be inhaled or swallowed.
But Rick Doyle, president of the
Synthetic Turf Council, said the lead
is fixed in place in the nylon and
does not leach out, and thus poses no
health risk. He also said that in recent
years, manufacturers have begun
offering lead-free nylon surfaces.
"In the 40 years that synthetic
sports turf has been in use in the
United States and around the world,
not one person has ever reported
any ill effects related to the material
composition of the fibers," he said.
Bresnitz has ordered additional tests
on how easily fibers and particles
from artificial turf can be swallowed
or inhaled. He said the risk from
playing on a lead-impregnated field
is probably very low. Nonetheless, he
suggested washing thoroughly after
play, laundering clothes separately
and wetting down fields to keep the
dust and fibers down during play.
Two fields in New Jersey _ Frank
Sinatra Park in Hoboken and a playing
surface at the College of New Jersey
in Ewing _ were voluntarily closed
after state health officials found up to
10 times the amount of lead that is
allowed in soil on contaminated sites
that are being turned into homes. The
government has no standard for how
much lead is allowable in artificial
turf.
A city-owned field in Newark
was closed last fall after similar test
results; officials there are replacing
the surface.
Fibers don't break off easily on
nylon fields, according to Dr. Davis
Lee, a Georgia Tech professor and
consultant to turf manufacturers.
He said even if fibers were to come
loose, the lead pigment particles still
would not fall out.
Artificial soccer, baseball and
football fields are popular because
they are durable and eliminate
the need for watering, pesticides
and mowing. Costs start at about
$300,000 and go up depending on
the type of turf, the size of the field
and other factors.
2008 Olympics protested
Olympic flame carried through a quiet New Delhi
By TIM SULLIVAN
Associated Press Writer
NEW DELHI (AP) _ Authorities
sealed off the center of their
normally frenetic capital T
with 15,000 police to protect
the Olympic torch relay from
anti-China protesters who held
their pro-Tibet demonstrations
elsewhere in India.
By the time the torchbearers
had traversed the shortened
New Delhi route of the round
the-world relay, protesters had
come nowhere near the Olympic
flame _ and only a few hundred
selected guests had managed to
see it at all.
Security was among the tightest
ever in central New Delhi,
with rings of protection _ first,
Chinese in blue tracksuits; then,
Indians in red ones _ surrounding
torchbearers as they jogged
from the presidential
palace to the India
Gate monument, which
commemorates India's
dead in World War I.
India has the world's
largest community of
Tibetan exiles, many of
whom see the torch
ahead of this summer's Beijing
Olympics as an important stage to
protest Chinese rule over Tibet.
Thousands held a peaceful mock
torch relay earlier Thursday
elsewhere in New Delhi, and
protests were also held
in other Indian cities,
including Mumbai, 211 11 1141
where 25 people who
tried to storm the Chinese
consulate were detained. 11P) 4, 4 , members
Much of New Delhi's leafy of India's
British colonial-era center Chinese
the administrative heart of community.
India, home to Parliament and The televised
government ministries _ was scenes of the sparse streets,
closed to traffic and pedestrians. though, were clearly outweighed
Streets were sealed for blocks by the Indian authorities' desire
around the route, which had been to avoid the chaos of torch
sharply cut back to about two runs in London, Paris and San
miles by worried organizers and Francisco.
The baseball team held their home opener on March 30, the first time playing on the new field. Pictured here is Austin Kulp, Garrett Piper and Logan Zugay, celebrating another homerun. The game
ended with a win for Penn State Harrisburg, the final score being 19-7. The PSH baseball team currently has a 6-2 home record, and are ranked first in the NEAC. Their next game is away at Key
stone college this Wednesday.
officials
The route left the 70 runners,
who ranged from athletes like
tennis star Leander Paes to
Bollywood celebrities, able to
jog for just a few seconds before
handing the
next person
Several
of
buses
police
followed
the runners
along the
route, where
the crowds
amounted to
little more
than a couple
hundred
young people
sitting on
bleachers
wearing T-
torch relay
sponsor,
Coca-Cola,
and a couple
hundred
When trouble did break out
Thursday, police quickly brought
it under control.
Small groups of protesters
repeatedly emerged from side
streets a few blocks from the
relay route, many shouting "Free The turmoil over the torch relay
Tibet!" and scattering pamphlets, and the growing international
but were hustled away by police. criticism of China's policies on
Authorities refused to disclose Tibet and Darfur have turned the
how many peoplqOpete arrested,4;4Dlympics _ which begin Aug. 8 _
"We feel humiliated," said Tashi
Dhundup, 32, a Tibetan exile
who runs a shop in New Delhi,
speaking at a prayer rally after
the torch relay. "All Tibetans feel
very bad about the government
decision not allowing us near the
parade route."
Sitting nearby, though, another
protester acknowledged India's
dilemma
"We understand that the Indian
government had to do these
things to keep good relations
with China," said Tenzin Tashi,
25, who works in a call center.
The Olympic flame, which began
its worldwide six-continent trek
from Greece on March 24, has
been the focus of protests over
China's human rights record.
into one of the most contentious
in recent history.
The torch arrived in Thailand
Friday and was quickly taken to
a hotel pending the relay. Up to
2,000 police will guard the route,
which authorities say could be
changed at the last minute to
avoid disruption by protesters.
News reports said about 30 pro-
China supporters greeted the
torch at the airport.
India is home to the Dalai Lama,
the Tibetan spiritual leader, as
well as the Tibetan government
in exile, and Indian officials are
trying forge closer ties with the
Chinese after decades of frosty
relations
Still, the country saw a number
of protests Thursday.
Some two dozen Tibetan exiles
chanted anti-China slogans and
protested along a busy highway
after the flame arrived early in
the day.
Several were detained
In Mumbai, India's financial
capital, police detained about
25 Tibetans who attempted to
breach the barricades around the
Chinese Consulate.
The protests also reached the
Indian Himalayan region of
Ladakh, which borders Tibet,
and at least 5,000 exiles and
local Buddhists chanted "Free
Tibet!" and "Down with China!"
as they marched through Leh,
the region's main city, said M.K.
Bhandari, a senior local official.
Thousands of Tibetans also
participated in the mock torch
run in New Delhi.
It began with Buddhist, Hindu
and Sikh prayers at the site where
Indian pacifist Mohandas Gandhi
was cremated. The torch was
then lighted and Tibetans put on
a show of traditional dancing.
Several dozen prominent
Indians joined the Tibetans, who
marched a few miles without
incident.
In neighboring Nepal, police
detained more than 500 Tibetan
exiles who protested near the
Chinese Embassy in the capital
Katmandu and shouted "Free
Tibet," police said.
A number of Indian athletes and
entertainers withdrew from the
Olympic torch run in recent days,
although most blamed injuries or
scheduling conflicts.
Indian Olympic Association
President Suresh Kalmadi used
his speech at the relay's end to
praise those who did join.
"Those athletes that have
carried the torch today have done
their duty towards the Olympics
and their country," he said.