9-24-20

RE: AB-771 Ellsworth Drive Abandonment

To Whom It May Concern,

My name is Diana Conway and I am writing on behalf of the Women’s Democratic Club of Montgomery County MD (WDC).  We are a non-profit club of over 600 politically active women and men dedicated to addressing issues disproportionately affecting women and children.  

WDC ‘s position on AB-771, abandonment by the Department of Transportation of Ellsworth Drive, is Support With CONDITIONS.  

WDC opposes, specifically, any use of synthetic turf (synturf) on Ellsworth Drive.  If the applicant insists on using synturf, WDC opposes the abandonment.  

The proposal is to apply voluminous quantities of industrial-strength glue over more than 8,000 square feet of roadbed on Ellsworth Drive, and to cover it with plastic synturf.  The list of defects below provides ample reasons for denying that aspect of the proposal.  Each point is based on extensive research, built on years of reporting and studies.  

The proposed synturf would create unsafe conditions for public health because it is toxic, hot, unsanitary, and would create an ongoing violation of water discharge permits.   Applicant’s promises of a safe surface with attentive cleanings using gentle products are imprecise and therefore unverifiable, and in any event do not cure the issues of toxicity, heat, MS4 and water quality.

The process to date:

• A majority of the Planning Board (3 of 5) opposed synturf on Ellsworth.  The minority (2 of 5) were silent on the merits, stating only that theirs was the wrong venue for deciding the matter.  See attached letter of 7-30-20.

• The Director of the County Department of Environmental Protection wrote in opposition to the use of  synturf on Ellsworth.  See attached letter of 7-13-20.

Water - MS4:  The proposed synturf will violate relevant MS4 permits and the NPDES (National Pollution Discharge Elimination System).  Runoff will carry bits and tufts of the plastic blades, the plastic backing, and particles of glue into the storm drain over the life of the synturf.  Each of these plastic fragments, singly and in combination, will affect buoyancy unpredictably for purposes of settling or retention.   The existing infrastructure is over 15 years old and was not designed in contemplation of micro-plastic debris and multiple toxicities.

Toxicity - Lead:  The presence of the neuro-toxic heavy metal, lead (Pb), is a near-certainty.  

• We’ve known there is lead in synturf for nearly 20 years.  A set of 2007 lawsuits by the State of California against three large synturf manufacturers showed that the plastic carpet itself (as distinct from any infill) contained up to 5,000 ppm of lead, 100 times the then-legal limit. 

• The ongoing presence of lead was confirmed in March 2016 by industry testimony before the Maryland legislature that “Yes there is lead in our product.”  That statement has remained, for close to five years, without clarification or rebuttal despite being cited repeatedly in our testimony at hearings attended by industry.  

• The presence of lead was tacitly confirmed in March 2020 when the President of the Synthetic Turf Council again declined to rebut our testimony citing the facts above from 2016 and 2007.

• The CDC and the American Academy of Pediatrics have stated for years that there is NO safe level of lead exposure; that claims of lead content below a safety threshold are “illusory;” and that the only strategy is prevention.

• Harm from lead is not only irreversible, it is exponentially cumulative.  Persons, especially children, already exposed and with an elevated BLL (blood lead level) are at a dramatically higher risk of harm than a similarly-situated person or child with a baseline BLL of zero.  There is a markedly higher incidence of elevated BLL among Black, Brown and/or lower-income communities. 

• We are unable to find a synturf vendor presenting a lead-free product that has been verified by an independent 3rd-party, certified lab.

Toxicity - PFAS:  The presence of PFAS is very likely.  Poly- or perfluoroalkyl substances.

• PFAS is a class of over 6,000 ‘forever chemicals.’  PFAS is highly toxic.  Exposure presents elevated risk for testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver damage, low birth weight, high blood pressure, pre-eclampsia in pregnant women and more.

• PFAS is linked to reduced effectiveness of vaccines.

• PFAS is used in synturf for its flame retardancy.

• PFAS is used in synturf during the extrusion process, to keep the plastic from sticking to itself.  

• Splashy claims like “PFOA-free” amount to a tacit, carefully omitted concession that any of the other 5,999+ other PFAS may be present.

• We are unable to find a synturf vendor presenting a PFAS-free product that has been verified by an independent 3rd-party, certified lab.

• There are lawsuits around the US by states and municipalities for PFAS pollution of public water sources from manufacturers like 3M and Dupont. 

Toxicity - Cleaning chemicals:  Synturf requires biocides, fungicides, disinfectants and sterilizers.

• Notwithstanding the applicant’s airy statements about attentive cleanings using unnamed common household cleansers, the record is clear that synturf needs aggressive cleaning.

• It is commonplace for public areas, whether a sports field or a street, to be subject to spit, sweat, blood, vomit, snot, bird or dog feces, dog or other urine, gum, cigarettes, sticky food and drinks, candy and more.  

• The CDC has said Covid can live on plastic for three or more days.  

• Studies show that as synturf ages it is increasingly hospitable to colonies of staph infections like MRSA and other pathogens.  

• Recently a playgrounds trade publication reported on dog feces in play areas: “Children not only fall, roll, and crawl on the ground outside, they also will sometimes put things in their mouths that they find on the ground.  It’s gross to think about a baby eating your dog’s leavings, but it’s also dangerous. Dogs may shed parasites including roundworms, E. coli, and hepatitis in their feces, which if consumed, may lead to an infection called toxocariasis.” PlaygroundProfessionals.com   

Realities of cleaning synturf on Ellsworth:  Many of these deposits will not be visible to the naked eye.  The likely result is either heavy and indiscriminate prophylactic use of cleansers, or inadequate cleaning resulting in an unsanitary, possibly pathogenic surface that disingenuously presents as clean. 

Heat:  

• Synturf in sun is reliably five to 20 degrees hotter than adjoining blacktop in sun.

• Synturf is sun is reliably 35 to 70 degrees hotter than adjoining grass in sun.

  • Even if “excessive” heat is limited to a few hours on warm days, those hours present a heat-related hazard to vulnerable populations.

  • Excessive heat will make the area less attractive for lingering and shopping.  

  • Synturf is associated with a dramatically higher incidence of EHS – exertional heat stroke – including numerous cases of kidney damage and death.

Flammability:  

• Synturf –both the plastic blades and the backing-- is a petroleum product and so is inherently flammable.

• Manufacturing efforts to make the product non-flammable require toxic chemicals like PFAS or other flame retardants.

• The synturf industry has a large and growing array of products with competing claims on which products are how flammable.  What is NOT at issue is that when exposed to fire or extreme heat, synturf does melt.  In many cases it also burns and in fact spreads to adjoining areas.  

• Less than a year ago downed power lines in CA fell onto synturf, caught fire and burned.  The fire spread to an adjoining field as documented in helicopter video and in print reporting by NBC among others.  The massive clouds of billowing black smoke over many hours were not from mere melting.  

• Synturf fields are frequent targets for vandals with blow-torches, a gallon of gas, fireworks,  etc., precisely because the surface responds dramatically.

• As proposed, the synturf on Ellsworth would be more flammable than when used on a sports field:  a synturf field typically has three to six pounds of silica sand, per square foot, as part of the infill mix.  The silica is there to serve as ballast but also reduces the material’s flammability.

• It is entirely foreseeable that people sitting on the synturf will engage in “casual destruction” such as using cigarettes and lighters to watch the blades burn or melt, and other creative activities.

ADA:  Activists from the disability community have raised objections based on ADA compliance.  Specific concerns are for persons using wheelchairs, walkers, canes or crutches, or with other mobility challenges.

Poor product choice: 

• The marketing materials of the selected manufacturer describe the product as appropriate for dog runs, rooftops etc., not thousands of pedestrians per day, Thanksgiving parades, farmers markets, and heavy delivery and emergency vehicles.  

• Synturfs sold for athletic uses usually contain warranty exclusions for activities like band drills in place.  That effect is comparable to the patterns of heavy pedestrian wear.   Many communities that held car-based graduation ceremonies on their synturfs are finding they may have voided their warranties.  

• Regardless of how long the synturf is deemed “usable,” at some point it must be removed, and possibly replaced.  The process of unsticking 8,000 square feet of old synturf will generate particulate from the glue and plastic carpet that will wind up in the storm drains.  

• There is NO recycling of used synturf in the US or Europe.  A single plant in Europe has suspended its activity, and has cancelled plans for a plant in the US.  

Climate:  

• The County-declared climate emergency should be grounds for blocking the gratuitous installation of over 8,000 square feet of plastic carpet and untold quantities of industrial glue.  

• This volume of unrecyclable, un-reusable mixed-plastic waste undoes, in one length of street, County-wide efforts to recycle plastic bottles and containers, to promote use of reusable bags or straws, and to keep plastic debris out of our waters.

• The proposed synturf is a completely unnecessary petroleum product that will continually shed microplastic, toxic off-gassing and debris, will generate heat and can serve as a petri dish of pathogens, all harming the public’s health, water and environment.

The developer’s wish for a visually attractive space is appropriate and welcome.  We believe that goal can be met with a combination of creative street art, movable planters, more street trees, thoughtful seating types and placement, and other features.  It could include sweeping areas of painted or mosaic surfaces down the length of Ellsworth, as seen in European and South American cities.  This abandonment request presents a terrific opportunity for community engagement with a public design contest for achieving the developer’s stated wish of an attractive and welcoming space.  

The County is in a position to lead by example and show responsible management of public spaces, public health and environmental stewardship.  While the existing blacktop is hardly environmentally friendly, this proposal would significantly exacerbate that issue, in a space designed to appeal and attract.  The impulse for a visually appealing space should be met, but without this We can do better, and we deserve better.  

The Women’s Democratic Club urges that AB-771 be approved only if the synturf feature is removed. 

Respectfully,

Diana Conway