Playing on Artificial Turf Could Cover Athletes in PFAS, Study Says

A new study warns that athletes playing sports on artificial turf could become covered in per- and polyfluorinated substances, or PFAS, present in the turf.

Researchers from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) conducted a small-scale study of young athletes, as well as their coaches, who played soccer on an artificial turf field. The results showed that three out of four people on the artificial turf had an increase in the amount of PFAS on their skin, while those who played on real grass fields did not have increases in PFAS levels on the skin. 

On one player, the amount of PFAS on the skin after playing on the artificial turf more than doubled the amount on the player’s skin tested before playing, The Guardian reported.

“Although this was a preliminary study, it raises red flags and calls for additional studies to determine what risk there is of dermal absorption of PFAS from artificial turf,” Kyla Bennett, science policy director for PEER, said in a press release.

According to Bennett, athletes playing on artificial turf could inhale or ingest PFAS or absorb these chemicals through skin contact.

“It’s also important to note that knowledge of dermal uptake of PFAS is severely lacking, but it may be a significant exposure pathway,” Bennett said.

PFAS, or forever chemicals, are synthetic chemicals that may never break down in the environment. Scientists are still conducting more research on how PFAS affect human health and the environment, but previous studies show these chemicals could be linked to negative reproductive impacts, developmental impacts in children or even increased risks of certain types of cancer.

While the findings of the study are preliminary, they do highlight the pervasiveness of PFAS and provide additional research on PFAS in faux grass. In 2019, lab tests showed PFAS in the backing of artificial turf and fluorine in the plastic-based blades of fake grass, which could indicate PFAS in the faux grass blades, as reported by The Intercept.

Artificial turf is often used for sports fields to reduce maintenance needs, or it may be used in drought-prone areas as an alternative to real grass that requires a lot of water. PFAS are common in waterproof or weatherproof products, including artificial turf, and can be found in the many layers that make up this kind of ground cover.

The issue of PFAS in artificial grass was brought up recently in the California legislature, when lawmakers proposed banning PFAS in synthetic turf. The bill was vetoed by California Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2023, as the governor noted that the bill did not name a regulatory agency to enforce the ban, Cal Matters reported.

According to PEER, there are about 12,000 to 13,000 sports fields with artificial turf in the U.S. But aside from concerns about PFAS exposure for humans, Bennett noted that these so-called forever chemicals can also leach into local environments.

“In 2024, the last thing we should be doing is putting down acres of a plastic fossil fuel product… with chemicals that are going to get all over athletes’ skin, and into soil and water,” Bennett told The Guardian. “It just boggles my mind that people are still considering using this stuff.”