EDMONDS — The city’s ban on installing crumb rubber athletic fields appears likely to be extended for another year — part of the ongoing national debate over the safety of artificial turf fields.
The current ban, which was approved in December 2015, was due to expire in July.
If approved, the ban would continue through Feb. 28. It would apply to publicly owned athletic fields in the city owned by a government organization, including the Edmonds School District.
The ban extension could be approved during its meeting on Tuesday.
The padding in the crumb rubber fields is made from ground-up used tires. “I think fundamentally the jury is still out on crumb rubber,” said Mike Nelson, one of three council members who proposed the extension.
“Do you want your child to play in used car tires or a grassy field?” he said.
The school district objected to the original ban and continues to do so, spokeswoman Debbie Joyce Jakala said.
The city is overstepping its authority “and potentially impacting our ability to provide educational services as we’re required by law,” she said.
City attorney Jeffrey Taraday was asked about the jurisdiction issue during a council meeting last week. He said he thought the city was “on pretty solid legal ground” when it adopted its moratorium.
With all the research being done, and the potential for significant health consequences, “I would be very surprised if a court told the city we could not take a time out … until some of these issues were resolved,” Taraday said.
Opponents of crumb rubber sports fields point to a list of hazardous chemicals in tires, including heavy metals and substances linked to cancer.
Two months after the city-approved ban on crumb rubber fields, three federal agencies announced they were undertaking a comprehensive study of turf field safety.
The national investigation of the possible health effects of playing on crumb rubber fields, conducted by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, is expected to continue through this year.
It will include tests on how people can be exposed to the crumb rubber, including unintentionally ingesting it, touching the crumb rubber, or breathing any vapors it may create.
New crumb rubber fields opened in the fall of 2015 at the former Woodway High School, just months before the city’s ban was approved.
The $4.2 million project had been planned for a decade, with the city of Edmonds and the Edmonds School District each contributing $500,000, the state $750,000, and $2.5 million from the Lynnwood-based Verdant Health Commission.
The fields became a lightning rod for community opposition to crumb rubber fields.
Concern was ignited in part by a University of Washington soccer coach who kept a list of soccer players who competed on the fields and later were diagnosed with various forms of cancer.
In January the state Department of Health said that after studying the cases, no evidence was found that playing on crumb rubber sports fields has caused soccer players to get cancer.
The Edmonds School District plans to install new sports fields at the Meadowdale Playfields on 66th Ave W in Lynnwood.
“They’re basically a dust bowl with dirt and sand,” Jakala said. “We’re putting out multiple bids for different surface types.”
The city of Lynnwood has allocated $2.5 million for the project, the school district is contributing $1 million and the city of Edmonds, which bases adult sports programs there, has set aside $500,000, said Carrie Hite, director of Edmonds’ Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services.
The money from the city will be used for safety equipment, such as seating and nets, she said.
The decision on whether to use crumb rubber or an alternative on the fields will be up to the school district, Hite said.
Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.
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