Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Artificial Turf Pfas topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge Burrillville council to halt artificial-turf plan over PFAS and safety concerns
Summary
Multiple residents told the Burrillville Town Council they oppose a proposed artificial-turf field, citing PFAS contamination, higher injury rates and water/maintenance problems; the council directed staff to host a public meeting Sept. 5 and pointed to materials posted online.
Several residents told the Burrillville Town Council on Aug. 14 that a proposed artificial-turf athletic field raises health, safety and regulatory concerns and urged the town to reconsider.
Peggy Dudley of Millpond Road said chemicals known as PFAS ‘‘accumulate everywhere, in the blood, in the soil, in the water,’’ and questioned a consultant’s assertion that the small quantity of PFAS in the proposed turf would not present a risk. ‘‘That could only be an accurate statement if the humans using the field had no PFAs in their blood,’’ Dudley said, adding that prior litigation and large settlements against companies have shown the chemicals’ persistence in the environment.
Pia Muller, who identified herself as living on Dorsey Lane, told the council she had reviewed studies she said show injury rates are higher on artificial turf. ‘‘Depending on which injury the study focuses on, the numbers are between 28 and 68 percent higher,’’ Muller said, and warned about inhalation of small ‘‘tire crumb’’ particles that can settle in lungs or into open wounds. She quoted a 2023 National Center for Health Research article and referenced statements from the NFL Players Association urging grass over turf.
Other residents asked practical and regulatory questions: one speaker said she had read that chemicals in some turf products would become illegal in 2029 and asked why the town would install material that might later have to be removed; another asked how the field would be watered during an existing local water ban.
Council members and staff responded by pointing residents to project materials posted on the town’s project webpage and announcing a public meeting on Sept. 5 at Middleville High School, where there will be presentations and a dedicated Q&A period. Councilor Jay Anderson publicly acknowledged the town manager, solicitor, town clerk and public works director for compiling and posting project files.
The comments at the Aug. 14 meeting did not result in a vote on the turf proposal; several speakers urged further study and clearer answers about liability, water use and the town’s insurance coverage if contamination or litigation arises. Councilors repeatedly directed residents to the town’s project webpage and said staff would continue to gather information ahead of the September public meeting.
