BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



          SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
                               Senator Wieckowski, Chair
                                  2015 - 2016 Regular
           
          Bill No:           SB 47
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          |Author:    |Hill                                                 |
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          |Version:   |12/17/2014           |Hearing      |3/18/2015        |
          |           |                     |Date:        |                 |
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          |Urgency:   |No                   |Fiscal:      |Yes              |
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          |Consultant:|Rachel Machi Wagoner                                 |
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          Subject:  Environmental health:  synthetic turf.

            ANALYSIS:                  
          
          Existing law:  under the California Tire Recycling Act of 1989,  
          requires the Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery  
          (CalRecycle) to initiate a tire recycling program that promotes  
          and develops alternatives to the landfill disposal of used tires.   
           A fee is assessed on the sale of new tires, and collected revenue  
          is deposited quarterly into the California Tire Recycling  
          Management Fund. CalRecycle allocates funds annually based on  
          availability and changing program needs.

          This bill:

          1. Requires the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment  
             (OEHHA), by July 1, 2017, in consultation with CalRecycle, the  
             State Department of Public Health (DPH), and the Department of  
             Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), 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 individual,  
             synergistic, and cumulative exposures to the chemicals that may  
             be found in synthetic turf, as provided.   

          2. Prohibits 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  







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             synthetic turf within the boundaries of a public or private  
             school or public recreational park, as provided.
          
          Background

          1. What is Synthetic Turf?  

             Synthetic turf is the next generation of artificial turf.  It  
             more closely resembles natural turf and is much different than  
             the 'AstroTurf' of old.  Most synthetic turf installed today is  
             a layered system that includes a drainage layer, a backing  
             system, and 'grass blades' that are in filled to resemble  
             natural turf.  The filler is a soil-like substance created with  
             sand and/or granulated recycled tire rubber (crumb rubber) or  
             other materials that provide the necessary stability,  
             uniformity, and resiliency.  The popularity of synthetic turf  
             results from the benefits of providing a consistent year-round,  
             all-weather playing surface built to withstand extended use  
             without downtime for poor weather.  It is low maintenance; it  
             does not have to be mowed; nor does it need water for  
             irrigation, pesticides or fertilizers.


          2. California Tire Recycling Act of 1989.  

             The California Tire Recycling Act was originally enacted to  
             provide a solution to the ever growing problem of mountains of  
             stockpiled waste tires.  The primary objective of the act is to  
             provide alternatives to landfill disposal of waste tires.


             According to CalRecycle, California today is faced with the  
             challenge of diverting or safely managing more than 42 million  
             reusable and waste tires generated annually in the state.   
             CalRecycle staff estimates that of the approximately 42 million  
             reusable and waste tires generated in 2013, approximately 36.7  
             million of the tires (87.3 percent) were diverted through  
             various alternatives, including reuse, retreading, and  
             combustion. 


             CalRecycle has lead responsibility to stimulate the diversion  
             of reusable and waste tires and to promote alternatives to  
             landfill disposal of this resource. CalRecycle has developed  








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             and funded a variety of waste tire management activities to  
             achieve these objectives, including:


                               Business development assistance to  
                      California enterprises.


                               Research to expand the uses and  
                      recyclability of tires.


                               Assistance to local governments to manage  
                      waste tires.


                               Regulation of waste tire facilities and  
                      waste tire haulers, to help ensure the protection of  
                      public health, safety and the environment.


                               Public education.


             Currently, the recycling markets in California do not consume  
             all of the waste tires generated.  Waste tires need to be  
             stored safely until sufficient markets are in place to increase  
             the consumption of waste tires.  CalRecycle provides the proper  
             waste tire management framework by enforcing waste tire  
             facility and waste tire hauler regulations.  As the use of  
             tires as feedstock material in commercial applications  
             increases, illegal stockpiling and the need for permitted  
             storage will decrease or cease to exist. 

             The Waste Tire Enforcement Program's primary goal is to manage  
             and mitigate the impacts of tires on public health and safety,  
             and the environment, by ensuring that tire businesses comply  
             with tire permitting, storage, and movement laws, regulations,  
             and state minimum standards.  Compliance is monitored through  
             integrated and consistent permitting, inspection, and  
             enforcement efforts.  CalRecycle works closely with state and  
             local governments to:  Inspect tire businesses for compliance  
             with permitting, storage, and movement laws, regulations, and  
             state minimum standards; educate tire businesses and property  








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             owners about tire laws and regulations; look for illegal  
             dumping, storage, and movement of tires; and, take enforcement  
             actions as needed to correct violations.
          
            Comments
          
             1.   Purpose of Bill.  

               The author asks, "Why are so many schools and local  
               governments using turf fields made from waste tires when  
               health concerns are increasing and alternative turf field  
               materials are 30-40 degrees cooler than waste tire fields?  
               Why is California subsidizing waste tire fields and  
               playgrounds given the health concerns?"

               The author believes that we have a responsibility to ensure  
               that our children are not being harmed by materials used to  
               make their fields and playground surfaces.  SB 47 requires  
               OEHHA, in consultation with CalRecycle, DPH, and DTSC, to  
               submit a report to the Legislature by July 1, 2017, analyzing  
               turf containing waste tires for potential adverse health  
               impacts.

             2.   Concerns raised over the use of crumb rubber.  

               With significant water savings and low maintenance  
               requirements, artificial turf is increasingly promoted as a  
               replacement for natural grass.  

               However, questions remain as to whether it is an  
               environmentally friendly alternative to natural grass.  The  
               major concerns stem from the infill material that is  
               typically derived from scrap tires.  Tire rubber crumb  
               contains a range of organic contaminants and heavy metals  
               that can volatilize into the air and/or leach into the  
               percolating rainwater, thereby posing a risk to and in the  
               environment.  Questions also arise as to the direct exposure  
               risks associated with contact with the crumb rubber and  
               whether ingestion, inhalation, eye or skin/abrasion contact  
               with the rubber present health risks.

               In 2010, then-Attorney General Jerry Brown settled a case  
               with the nation's largest makers and installers of turf  
               fields requiring them to reduce levels of lead in their  








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               products.  The settlement required companies to reformulate  
               their products to reduce lead levels to negligible amounts  
               and established the nation's first enforceable standards  
               applicable to lead in artificial turf. Brown brought the case  
               in 2008 against these companies for excessive lead levels  
               after testing by the Center for Environmental Health found  
               high concentrations of lead in their products.  Brown's  
               office confirmed these findings in independent tests.

               In recent years there has been an increased concern about the  
               health impacts on frequent users of turf fields made from  
               waste tires.  

               In 2014, NBC's story, "How Safe Is the Artificial Turf Your  
               Child Plays On?" reported on a soccer coach who had noticed  
               an influx of young soccer players (goalies) who had been  
               playing more extensively on synthetic turf fields and had  
               been diagnosed with cancer.  The report goes on to state that  
               no research has linked cancer to artificial turf  but  
               questions whether the product had been sufficiently tested to  
               determine if there was a link.

               Over the last decade there have been upward of 50 studies  
               conducted nationally and internationally by academic  
               institutions and federal and state governments examining the  
               potential adverse health impacts associated with synthetic  
               turf, synthetic turf using crumb rubber, and recycled rubber  
               playground materials.  These studies range in scope from  
               inhalation risks to bacterial infections associated with  
               exposure to staphylococcus aureus on synthetic fields.  Some  
               of the studies ask broad questions about health impacts,  
               however examine a small sample size of fields, examine only  
               one chemical, look at a limited number of exposure pathways,  
               or do not look at the specific risks to children.  

               SB 1277 (Maldonado), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2008, required  
               the California Integrated Waste Management Board (now  
               CalRecycle), in consultation with the OEHHA and DPH, to  
               prepare and make available a study comparing the effects of  
               synthetic turf and natural turf on the environment and public  
               health with respect to four subjects: skin abrasions,  
               bacteria harbored by the turf, inhalable particulate matter,  
               and volatile organic compounds.  Based on OEHHA's analysis of  
               the data collected for this study, OEHHA "concluded these  








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               fields do not pose a serious public health concern, with the  
               possible exception of an increased skin abrasion rate on  
               artificial turf relative to natural turf."
            
               In 2009, the United States Environmental Protection Agency  
               (US EPA) released results of a limited fields-monitoring  
               study of artificial turf playing fields and playgrounds  
               constructed with recycled tire material or crumb rubber.  The  
               study was intended to gain experience conducting field  
               monitoring of recreational surfaces that contain crumb  
               rubber.  US EPA states, "The limited data [US] EPA collected  
               during this study, which do not point to a concern, represent  
               an important addition to the information gathered by various  
               government agencies."  However, given the limited nature of  
               the study (limited number of constituents monitored, sample  
               sites, and samples taken at each site) and wide diversity of  
               tire crumb material, it is not possible without additional  
               data, to extend the results beyond the four study sites to  
               reach more comprehensive conclusions.

               The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states  
               that information provided by the New Jersey Department of  
               Health and Senior Services (NJDHSS) to CDC and the Agency for  
               Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) indicates that  
               some of the fields tested by NJDHSS were found to have  
               elevated lead in either dust and/or turf fiber samples that  
               were weathered and visibly dusty.  Fields that are old, that  
               are used frequently, and that are exposed to the weather  
               break down into dust as the turf fibers are worn or  
               demonstrate progressive signs of weathering, including fibers  
               that are abraded, faded or broken.  

               Both CDC and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)  
               advise that children always wash their hands after playing on  
               this material.

               While, to date, there have been an extensive number of  
               studies done, both the US EPA and CPSC have advised that the  
               studies are not extensive enough to provide adequate data to  
               be conclusive on the potential adverse health impacts and  
               conclude that further study is necessary.

             3.   Should California Subsidize the Development of Recycled  
               Markets Without Requiring Safety Testing?  








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          One of the primary directives of the California Used Tire Act is  
          to assist in developing new markets for recycled used tires.  

          To date, CalRecycle has successfully built a program that is  
          diverting nearly 90% of California's waste tires.  This provides  
          an important service to the state.  Without this program millions  
          of waste tires would be stockpiled or filling California  
          landfills.

          However, not every product made from recycled waste may be  
          appropriate.  

          The harmful constituents that are found in tires are a known and  
          accepted environmental risk associated with the tire for that  
          tire's original purpose -- on a vehicle.  The potential health  
          risks associated with potential uses of that tire once it is  
          recycled (such as for playgrounds and fields) were not considered  
          or examined in the design and approved original use of the tire.

          When CalRecycle is developing new markets and subsidizing the use  
          of recycled products, should the department require health and  
          safety analysis be done prior to using state funds to subsidize  
          those markets?

          Tire recycling and use of crumb rubber in synthetic fields has  
          been encouraged by the State of California for many years.  A  
          moratorium on use in California would negatively impact the sale  
          and manufacturer of synthetic turf in California and may place an  
          unfair burden on the businesses that were specifically built for  
          this purpose and encouraged by the state to do so. 

          For SB 47, since this product is already a developed market in  
          California, removing the moratorium from the bill would prevent  
          California businesses from having to cease operations until the  
          study is complete.  

          However, because the state does not have the comprehensive data to  
          assert that this product is safe for use by children, the state  
          should not be encouraging the use of the product through subsidies  
          until that study is complete.  The bill should be amended to  
          discontinue state subsidies of the product until that  
          comprehensive study is completed and shows that the product is  
          safe for use by children.








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             4.   Clarifying Amendments.  

          The bill needs several clarifying amendments to the study to make  
          it clear to OEHHA what type of analysis will be done and under  
          what conditions.

            
          Related/Prior Legislation
          SB 1277 (Maldonado), Chapter 398, Statutes of 2008, required the  
          California Integrated Waste Management Board (now CalRecycle), in  
          consultation with OEHHA and DPH, to prepare and make available a  
          study comparing the effects of synthetic turn and natural turf on  
          the environment and public health. 
          
          SOURCE:                    Senator Hill  

          
          SUPPORT:          
          Action for Nature
          Brock International, LLC
          California Native Plant Society
          California Safe Schools
          Center for Environmental Health
          Clean Water Action
          Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods
          Coalition to Save Ocean Beach / Friends of Sutro Heights Park
          D5 Action
          Environment and Human Health, Inc.
          Environment California 
          GeoTurf/Limonta Sport USA
          Golden Gate Audubon Society
          Golden Gate Park Preservation Alliance
          Haight Ashbury Neighborhood Council
          Healthy Soccer SF
          Hellas Sports Construction
          Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
          San Francisco Tomorrow
          Senator Quentin L. Kopp
          Sierra Club California
          SF Ocean Edge
          SFPARKS
          SPEAK Sunset Parkside Education and Action Committee
          SynTurf.org








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          The Turf Authority
          Turf Grass Forum
          77 individuals
           
           OPPOSITION:    
          American Sports Builders Association (ASBA)
          California Association of School Business Officials
          Californians Against Waste
          CRM Company, Inc.
          Liberty Tire Recycling
          Los Angeles County Solid Waste Management Committee/Integrated  
          Waste 
               Management Task Force
          Synthetic Turf Council
          West Coast Rubber Recycling, Inc.
           
           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:    Public Employees for Environmental  
          Responsibility (PEER) state that "every year millions of pounds of  
          tires are recycled into ground rubber, sometimes called "tire  
          crumb) and placed onto playgrounds and sports fields.  PEER  
          represents public health professionals who are concerned that  
          there has been no adequate risk assessment on the potential  
          toxicity to children from direct contact with tire ingredients,  
          such as arsenic, cadmium, chromium, mercury and a number of  
          dangerous hydrocarbons.

          Neither the US EPA nor the CPSC has ever fully investigated its  
          public health and environmental risks.  In fact, US EPA scientific  
          reviews or available literature have concluded that the agency  
          lacks the information required to adequately assess the extent of  
          childhood exposure from ingestion or inhalation of an array of  
          toxic chemicals found within tires."
          
          ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION:    Californians Against Waste (CAW)  
          strongly opposes SB 47, stating that while CAW "often urges the  
          application of the Precautionary Principal in response to  
          conflicting data," "in this instance, [CAW] is not aware of any  
          conflicting data that indicates a health risk from the use of  
          recycled crumb rubber.  In fact, the use of this product has been  
          studied more extensively than almost any other recycled product  
          that is sold.  There have been more than 50 technical studies and  
          several extensive literature reviews analyzing the health concerns  
          of crumb rubber use (including cancer risk).  To the best of our  
          [CAW's] knowledge, none have found an elevated cancer risk."








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          Rubber recycling and synthetic turf manufacturers in opposition  
          state that they fear that the moratorium in SB 47 puts at risk  
          dozens of California businesses and jobs that have invested in  
          building a tire recycling infrastructure.
                                           


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