Parks Department Commissioner Adrian Benepe refused a request from academics to examine the possible health risks being posed by the synthetic turf that is being installed in public athletic fields throughout the city. Public Advocate and former Parks Dept. Commissioner Betsy Gotbaum said yesterday that the city should stop installing the synthetic turf until an independent study into the material’s possible toxicity is conducted. A CUNY professor has tested pellets of the synthetic turf used in some city parks and found likely carcinogenic elements in them, but calls for further testing have gone unheeded by Benepe. Synthetic turf has been used at 73 locations in city parks, and the Parks Dept. plans to install it at an additional 40 fields. more [Metro]
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