Artificial turf precautions

0 Comments | USA TODAY, May, 2008

Are the artificial turf fields that you or your kids play on safe? The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have launched an investigation to find out, and they hope to release their findings this summer.

Meanwhile, parents and athletes concerned about lead in such fields can take precautions, say Eddy Bresnitz, deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, and Dale Kemery, an EPA spokesman.

*Wash hands, face and body after playing on an artificial turf field.

*Take off clothes worn on synthetic surfaces inside out, then wash separately.

*Field custodians should water the fields before and after they're used to reduce dust raised by heavy play.

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