For Wilton High School head football coach Bruce Cunningham, safety decided the turf war. Referring to a new state study on artificial field surfaces, he said: "I glanced through it and when I found out ... there were no toxic concerns, I didn't finish reading."
The study by four state agencies gave two thumbs up to artificial turf fields containing crumb rubber infill.
Both Tom Fujitani Field at Memorial Stadium and Kristine Lilly Field at Wilton High School are filled with crumb rubber.
Although he is glad of the study finding of no increase in health risks, Cunningham said his first game on artificial turf decided the safety issue for him. He was an assistant coach when the Warriors played Darien. The rubber turf had been laid down earlier in the day and hadn't settled.
"There were rubber pellets all over kids' faces, they probably ate them that night," Cunningham said. He thought if nothing happened after that night, artificial turf must be safe.
The coach prefers having his teams play and practice on artificial turf. He said it works better than sod late in the season. "The field does not become an issue," he said, with rain and mud erasing yard lines.
The study was performed by the University of Connecticut Health Center, the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, the Department of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Protection.
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