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Depending on who is talking, synthetic turf fields are either the environmentally sound wave of the future or a yet-to-be-fully known threat to humans and the Earth.

And there's more and more talk about the controversial man-made grass in Maryland lately.

With the arrival of a new school year in a state where the popularity of field hockey and lacrosse add demands on fields already used for football and soccer, athletic directors whose players and schedules are put on hold by rain find an all-weather surface appealing. Some environmental and parents groups, however, are less sold on the value of the fabricated playing surfaces. They say a field's roughly $1 million price tag is just part of its known costs.

As the debate goes on, federal agencies, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, still are measuring the risks that might be posed by direct and environmental exposure to chemicals in grass yarns and in crumbed tire rubber, widely used as infill "dirt" by various brands of synthetic turf fields.

Although most fans and detractors agree man-made turf fields have improved since the debut of "astro turf" in the 1960s — which was widely panned as unforgiving and more likely to cause injuries — concerns about high surface temperatures, abrasions and infections, as well as inhalable and absorbable toxins, persist.

Faced with concerns from parents and environmentalists, a Montgomery County Council committee in July directed the county's public schools, parks and environmental protection departments to work together to weigh the costs, risks and benefits of replacing grass athletic fields with their synthetic counterparts before it enters a contract to build a fourth turf field at Paint Branch High School next year.

"It's challenging to find out fact from fiction," given competing information that sod growers and turf vendors offer about the comparative advantages and disadvantages, Montgomery's Deputy Parks Director Mike Riley told the committee.

High lead levels in some fields

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed more than two years ago that high levels of lead were detected in dust from some athletic fields in New Jersey that were made of nylon or nylon and polyethylene blend, while fields made with only polyethylene had low levels of lead. No agency in Maryland tracks the number of turf fields or their composition.

Studies have found levels of lead and other toxins in much of the playing space above fields were not significantly higher than in the rest of the air.

Not all vendors use rubber from crumbed tires, which have been linked to lead and other toxins. Some use special sand and other products. Many companies doing business in Maryland say their products are completely lead-free and that chemicals used for color are stable and not released.

While turf vendors tout the environmental benefits of not having to mow or fertilize, critics want to know what is in the water that runs off the fields and about the effects of creating heat islands.

In early July, the EPA met in New York with its state and local counterparts to review what is known about the risks that synthetic turf might pose to people and the environment.

In December, the EPA released results of a limited study meant to test its method of monitoring recreational surfaces that contain tire rubber crumbs. That study included air and contact swipe samples from four sites in the Eastern half of the nation, including the Washington, D.C., area. The agency said readings showed no toxins at levels of concern, but noted the sample was too small to extrapolate the findings to other sites.

In July 2008, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommended voluntary standards to eliminate lead in new turf products, but found lead levels on synthetic turf generally were not harmful even to young children — although, it noted, that field wear and weather could increase lead levels.

Currently, the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association, which governs interscholastic sports, encourages use of man-made turf because it increases opportunities for school field use and decreases cancellations, said Maryland Department of Education spokesman Bill Reinhard.

Anne Arundel leads the way

Nowhere is the move toward synthetic turf stronger than in Anne Arundel County, where nine of 12 public high school stadium fields are covered by synthetic green fibers. Two more also will be by fall, thanks to the state Board of Public Works' approval July 28 of more than $1.5 million to help pay for the switch. All Anne Arundel high schools will have synthetic turf when Northeast High School in Pasadena gets its field as part of a renovation that is under way.

In Anne Arundel, school and recreation leagues share use of turf fields, which officials installed at high schools as a way to equitably distribute access across the county.

Anne Arundel County Executive John Leopold, who secured state Program Open Space funding to help pay for the fields, said they are a "highly prized amenity" and generally supported by the public, especially, he noted, when residents learn the state bore much of the cost.

Allegany, Baltimore, Charles, Frederick, Harford and Montgomery counties, as well as the municipalities of Baltimore and Bowie, have installed synthetic turf, as have many universities, colleges and private high schools around the state.

Still, many schools in Maryland have not had the fields for even half of the eight- to 10-year life span that vendors claim, said Ron Bilenko, coordinator of athletics for Baltimore County Public Schools.

"The jury is really not [back yet] on artificial surfaces," he said.

Fabricated turf fields don't have to be mowed, seeded or fertilized but do have to be groomed and repaired. Estimates for refurbishment are about $500,000, or half the cost of installation, because the ground has been prepared and drainage systems are expected to last.

Montgomery County's parks department estimated the 10-year cost, including maintenance, of a synthetic turf field at about $995,000, with $130,000 of that attributed to maintenance. Most school systems surveyed said the cost of turf fields was higher, having pegged installation alone at about $1 million.

Maintenance costs for turf fields are less than for their grass counterparts, said W. Franklin Chaney, Anne Arundel's recreation administrator who oversees turf fields under an agreement with the county's schools. And the grooming machine, often included in the contract price for the field, burns less gas than lawn mowers, he added.

"Environmentally, we think it's a fantastic improvement," Chaney said of turf fields.

Although synthetic turf can withstand more use, Bilenko said he has seen the spot where lacrosse goalies stand wear out early on a field in another county.

In Baltimore County, vandalism, including a fire set on one turf field, has led to a plan to install surveillance cameras to protect the playing surfaces, Bilenko said, adding frequent use and visibility help deter mischief.

Meanwhile, California's and Connecticut's environmental agencies worked on synthetic turf studies this summer. California is expected to publish its findings in September, California Environmental Protection Agency spokesman Sam Delson said.

Connecticut's health department announced in July its study found health risks are not elevated from playing on the man-made fields. However, the study recommended ventilation of indoor fields should be considered. And, stormwater findings indicate that proper management of runoff is prudent to address possible environmental effects.

The Maryland Department of Environment's Land Management Administration has no regulations on synthetic turf and does not have a study under way, said Jay Apperson, an MDE spokesman.

Maryland's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is not researching turf fields either, but does watch for outbreaks of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which turf opponents say is a threat to players who scrape or break their skin on more abrasive synthetic surfaces.

Dr. David Blythe, epidemiologist for the department, said he is not aware of any documented case of MRSA infection tied to turf fields. A 2005 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine linked some MRSA infections among St. Louis Rams players to turf abrasions, but did not link the bacteria to the turf.

Another concern about field turf involves surface temperatures, which can be 30 to 60 degrees hotter than air temperatures, but usually are only a few degrees higher than ambient temperatures within two to five feet above the surface, studies have found.

Elsewhere in Maryland

In Harford County, where four of 10 high schools have turf fields and a fifth will have one by September, teams take more breaks or practice on grass fields if it is too hot and usually do not play anyway on the hottest days of the year, said Ken Zorbach, athletics supervisor for the county's public schools.

The use of synthetic fields has enabled Harford schools to improve their grass fields by taking them out of play to recover, Zorbach said.

With no turf fields of their own, Howard County public schools sometimes fall back on renting them in county parks to keep playoffs on schedule or give teams experience on fabricated turf before they face it on opponents' home fields.

"More than any other reason, why we don't have them is budget," said Michael L. Williams, who coordinates athletics for Howard public schools.

"I think the community would support them, but not over taking money away from other aspects of the budget — we're proud of our [academic] test scores."

Instead, Howard has installed durable Bermuda grass fields at all 12 public high schools, a strategy many environmental groups favor. Although Bermuda grass generally does not thrive much farther north, it is touted for recovering quickly from cleat and traffic wear.

Allegany County Public Schools have two synthetic turf fields. One field is home to varsity and junior varsity football, as well as boys and girls soccer, for two high schools in Cumberland. That field was installed in 1998 and was replaced two years ago, said Vincent Montana, the school systems facilities director.

A second was installed at Mountain Ridge High School in Frostburg, and the community has been "very supportive" of the fields and the injury rate has not been higher than on grass, he said.

"The only drawback I've seen is on a hot day, it's extremely hot on the field," Montana said. "We have, on occasion, watered them to cool it down."

mhyslop@gazette.net