Amended in Senate March 25, 2015

Senate Bill No. 47

Introduced by Senator Hill

December 17, 2014

An act to add Article 3 (commencing with Section 115810) to Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of, and to repeal Section 115812 of, the Health and Safety Code, and to amend begin delete Section end delete begin insert Sections 42872 and end insert 42873 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 47, as amended, Hill. Environmental health: synthetic turf.

Existing law regulates certain behavior related to recreational activities and public safety, including, among other things, playgrounds and wooden playground equipment.

This bill would require the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, by July 1, 2017, in consultation with the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Department of Public Health, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control, to prepare and provide to the Legislature and post on the office’s Internet Web site a study analyzing synthetic turf, as defined, for potential adverse health impacts. The bill would require the study to include certain information, including a hazard analysis of begin delete individual, synergistic, and cumulative exposures end delete begin insert exposure end insert to the chemicals that may be found in synthetic turf, as provided. The bill would prohibit a public or private school or local government, until January 1, 2018, from installing, or contracting for the installation of, a new field or playground surface made from synthetic turf within the boundaries of a public or private school or public recreational park, begin delete as provided end delete begin insert unless 3 specified conditions are met, including that the public or private school or local government has obtained at least one estimate from a company that does not use crumb rubber in its turf field and playground products, as provided end insert .

The California Tire Recycling Act (act) requires a person who purchases a new tire to pay a California tire fee, for deposit in the California Tire Recycling Management Fund, for expenditure by the department, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for programs related to the disposal of waste tires begin insert including the awarding of grants end insert . The act specifies that the activities eligible for funding include the manufacture of specified products made from used tires.

The bill would include the above study as one of the acceptable activities eligible for this funding. begin insert The bill would also authorize the awarding of grants to businesses that produce crumb rubber from waste tires for purposes of helping the businesses find alternative markets other than fields and playgrounds for their products. The bill would prohibit the awarding under this program of grants, subsidies, rebates, loans, or any other types of funding to businesses or other enterprises, to public or private schools, or to local governments for purposes of offsetting the cost of manufacturing or installing synthetic turf. end insert

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Article 3 (commencing with Section 115810) is
added to Chapter 4 of Part 10 of Division 104 of the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

 

Article 3.  The Children’s Safe Playground and Turf Field Act
of 2015

 

115810.  

For purposes of this article, “synthetic turf” means
any composition material that contains recycled crumb rubber
from waste tires and is used to cover or surface a field or
playground.

115811.  

(a) By July 1, 2017, the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment, in consultation with the Department
of Resources Recycling and Recovery, the State Department of
Public Health, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control,
shall prepare and provide to the Legislature and post on the office’s
Internet Web site a study analyzing synthetic turf for potential
adverse health impacts.

(b) The study shall include all of the following:

(1) A hazard analysis of begin delete individual, synergistic, and cumulative
exposures end delete begin insert exposure end insert to the chemicals that may be found in synthetic
turf, such as 4-t-octylphenol, acetone, arsenic, barium, benzene,
benzothiazole, butylated hydroxyanisole, cadmium, carbon black,
chloroethane, chromium, lead, manganese, matex, mercury, methyl
ethyl ketone, methyl isobutyl ketone, n-hexadecane, naphthalene,
nickel, nylon, phenol, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons, and zinc.

(2)  begin delete A specific analysis evaluating end delete begin insert An analysis that considers
the end insert varying exposure activities, environments, duration of play,
ages of different populations who play on synthetic turf, and
exposure pathways, including whether chemicals found in tires
have negative impacts on human health when used in indoor and
outdoor fields and parks with various weather exposures and
potentially ingested by children or coming in contact with
children’s bodies.

(3) Biomonitoring or other exposure monitoring of children or
adults exposed to synthetic turf to be used to assess their exposure
to chemicals found in the synthetic turf, to the extent feasible, to
determine potential health impacts on children and other age
groups.

(4) An examination of the potential for fields and playgrounds
containing synthetic turf to cause adverse health impacts, including,
but not limited to, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, testicular cancer,
prostate cancer, sarcoma cancer, and leukemia. This examination
shall include people who have developed these health impacts and
played on fields and playgrounds containing used tires, including,
but not limited to, soccer goalies.

(5) An examination of the health impacts associated with
synthetic turf fields and playgrounds of varying age.

(6) An evaluation of the differences in the begin delete manufacturers end delete
begin insert manufacturing end insert of synthetic turf and different turf, field, and
playground products, including those that do not use recycled tires,
and how these differences may affect health impacts. The
evaluation shall include, but not be limited to, the types and age
of tires used, the tire processing, and the type of plasticizer, backing
material, adhesives, and plastic blades of artificial grass used to
make the final synthetic turf product.

(7) An evaluation of the differences, in terms of health impacts,
between begin delete crumb rubber and alternative surface materials end delete begin insert fields and
playgrounds covered with synthetic turf and nonsynthetic turf end insert ,
including begin insert , but not limited to, fields made from end insert coconut fibers, rice
husks, cork, begin insert sand, end insert and used shoes.

(8) A review of current research on the health impacts of
synthetic turf done by authoritative bodies from around the country
and the world.

(9) Research to fill any data gaps, such as those data gaps
identified by the report prepared by the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment on behalf of the Department of
Resources Recycling and Recovery titled “Safety Study of
Artificial Turf Containing Crumb Rubber Infill Made From
Recycled Tires: Measurements of Chemicals and Particulates in
the Air, Bacteria in the Turf, and Skin Abrasions Caused by
Contact with the Surface.”

(10) An examination of the health impacts of exposures to many
low level volatile organic compounds and polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons found in synthetic turf fields and playgrounds.

begin insert

(11) An analysis that compares the temperatures on synthetic
turf, nonwaste tire turf, and grass turf during the high-temperature
periods in the summer. This analysis shall include a health impact
analysis including, but not limited to, heat stress, heat illness, and
other heat-related health issues.

end insert

(c)  begin delete At least 20 end delete begin insert A representative sample of end insert begin insert end insert synthetic turf fields
and playgrounds around the state shall be analyzed for purposes
of the study.

(d) (1) A study submitted to the Legislature pursuant to
subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795
of the Government Code.

(2) The requirement for submitting a study to the Legislature
imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) is inoperative on July 1, 2021,
pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

115812.  

(a) (1) A public or private school or local government
shall not install, or contract for the installation of, a new field or
playground surface made from synthetic turf within the boundaries
of a public or private school or public recreational begin delete park. end delete begin insert park unless
the following three conditions are met: end insert

begin insert

(A) The bid specification of the public or private school or local
government for the turf field or playground surface includes at
least one option that does not use crumb rubber from waste tires.

end insert begin insert

(B) The public or private school or local government has
obtained at least one estimate from a company that does not use
crumb rubber from waste tires in its turf field and playground
products.

end insert begin insert

(C) The public or private school or local government has held
a public meeting regarding the installation of synthetic turf with
an opportunity for public comment.

end insert

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any installation of a field
or playground surface made from synthetic turf that commenced,
or any contract for such installation entered into, prior to January
1, 2016.

begin insert

(3) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any maintenance that is
needed on a synthetic turf field or playground in existence as of
January 1, 2016.

end insert

(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2018,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2018, deletes or extends that date.

begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Section 42872 of the end insert begin insert Public Resources Code end insert begin insert is
amended to read: end insert

42872.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The tire recycling program may include, but is not
limited to, the following:

begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  The awarding of grants, subsidies, rebates, and loans to
businesses or other enterprises, and public entities, involved in
activities and applications that result in reduced landfill disposal
of used whole tires and reduced illegal disposal or stockpiling of
used whole tires.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  The awarding of grants for research aimed at developing
technologies or improving current activities and applications that
result in reduced landfill disposal of used whole tires.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  The awarding of grants or loans for the evaluation, planning,
design, improvement, and implementation of alternative used tire
recycling programs in this state.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  The awarding of grants, subsidies, rebates, or loans to
businesses that shred used tires for purposes of recycling.

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  Development and implementation of an information and
education program, including seminars and conferences, aimed at
promoting alternatives to the landfill disposal of used whole tires.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert  The awarding of grants or loans to tire shredding programs
at authorized landfills, solid waste transfer stations, or dedicated
tire shredding facilities, including the direct purchase of shredders
or financing of shredder contracts.

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (7) end insert  Development and implementation of a waste tire incentive
payment program to promote increased demand for waste tires
recycled in this state and to promote higher valued products.

begin insert

(8) The awarding of grants to businesses that produce crumb
rubber from waste tires for purposes of helping the business to
find alternative markets other than fields and playgrounds for their
products.

end insert begin insert

(b) The tire recycling program shall not include the awarding
of grants, subsidies, rebates, loans, or any other types of funding
to businesses or other enterprises, to public or private schools, or
to local governments for purposes of offsetting the cost of
manufacturing or installing synthetic turf as that term is defined
in Section 115810 of the Health and Safety Code.

end insert

begin delete SEC. 2. end delete
begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 42873 of the Public Resources Code is
amended to read:

42873.  

(a) Activities eligible for funding under this article,
that reduce, or that are designed to reduce or promote the reduction
of, landfill disposal of used whole tires, may include the following:

(1) Polymer treatment.

(2) Rubber reclaiming and crumb rubber production.

(3) Retreading.

(4) Shredding.

(5) The manufacture of products made from used tires,
including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Rubberized asphalt, asphalt rubber, modified binders, and
chip seals.

(B) Playground equipment.

(C) Crash barriers.

(D) Erosion control materials.

(E) Nonslip floor and track surfacing.

(F)  begin delete Oilspill end delete begin insert Oil end insert begin insert spill end insert begin insert end insert recovery equipment.

(G) Roofing adhesives.

(H) Tire-derived aggregate applications, including lightweight
fill and vibration mitigation.

(I) Molded products.

(J) Products using recycling rubber and other materials, such
as plastic.

(K) Paint and coatings.

(6) Other environmentally safe applications or treatments
determined to be appropriate by the department.

(7) A study to analyze synthetic turf for potential adverse health
impacts, pursuant to Section 115811 of the Health and Safety Code.

(b) (1) The department shall not expend funds for an activity
that provides support or research for the incineration of tires. For
the purposes of this article, incineration of tires, includes, but is
not limited to, fuel feed system development, fuel sizing analysis,
and capacity and production optimization.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not affect the permitting or regulation
of facilities that engage in the incineration of tires.