Availability of Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Research Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization

Timothy Watkins
Environmental Protection Agency
25 July 2019

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 143 (Thursday, July 25, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35861-35862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-15761]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9997-05-ORD]


Availability of Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber 
Research Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--
Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of release of action plan part 1 final report.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is announcing 
the release of the Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber 
Research Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--
Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization. In February 2016, EPA, Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic 
Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (CPSC) launched the Federal Research Action Plan (FRAP) on 
Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and Playgrounds. The goal of 
this research effort under the FRAP is to characterize potential human 
exposures to the substances associated with recycled tire crumb rubber 
used on synthetic turf fields. Playgrounds are addressed separately by 
CPSC.
    Results of the effort are being reported in two parts. Part 1 (this 
document) communicates the research objectives, methods, results and 
findings for the tire crumb rubber characterization research (i.e., 
what is in the material). Part 2, to be released at a later date, will 
document efforts to characterize potential human exposures to the 
chemicals found in the tire crumb rubber material while using synthetic 
turf fields, and will include information from a biomonitoring study 
initiated by CDC/ATSDR. The timeline and information about the Part 2 
report will be posted to the agency's website as it becomes available.
    Neither Part 1 nor Part 2 of this study, separately or combined, 
will constitute an assessment of the risks associated with playing on 
synthetic turf fields

[[Page 35862]]

with recycled tire crumb rubber infill. The results of the research 
described in both Part 1 and Part 2 of this study should inform future 
risk assessments.

DATES: This announcement is effective July 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES: The Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Research 
Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--Tire Crumb 
Rubber Characterization, will be available via the internet at https://www.epa.gov/tirecrumb.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For information on the Synthetic Turf 
Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Research Under the Federal Research 
Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization, 
contact Kelly Widener, ORD; telephone: 202-564-6737; or email: 
Widener.Kelly@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background Information on the Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb 
Rubber Research Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: 
Part 1--Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization

    According to the Synthetic Turf Council, there are currently 12,000 
to 13,000 synthetic turf fields in the United States, with 1,200 to 
1,500 new installations each year. Fields often use recycled tire 
rubber as infill material, sometimes mixed with sand. Fields are at 
municipal and county parks; schools, colleges, and universities; 
professional sports stadiums and practice fields; and military 
installations. It is estimated that millions of people use or work at 
these fields each year.
    Parents, athletes, schools, and communities have raised concerns 
about potential health effects. To help address these concerns, the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances 
and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the Consumer Product Safety 
Commission (CPSC), launched a multi-agency research effort in February 
2016.
    This multi-agency research effort, known as the Federal Research 
Action Plan (FRAP) on Recycled Tire Crumb Used on Playing Fields and 
Playground. The specific FRAP research covered in this report is 
focused on assessing potential human exposure, which includes 
conducting research activities to characterize the chemicals associated 
with recycled tire crumb rubber and to identify the ways in which 
people may be exposed to those chemicals based on their activities on 
synthetic turf fields. Also, the research includes characterizing 
emissions and bioaccessibility to differentiate what is present in the 
recycled tire crumb rubber from what people may actually be exposed to 
from recycled tire crumb rubber.
    This research was designed to evaluate exposure. Results from this 
study can be used by others to inform potential risk. Prior to the FRAP 
being initiated, most studies examining these potential risks have been 
considered inconclusive or otherwise incomplete. Based upon available 
literature, this research effort represents the largest tire crumb 
rubber study conducted in the United States. The information and 
results from the effort will fill specific data gaps about the 
potential for human exposure to chemical constituents associated with 
recycled tire crumb rubber used in synthetic turf fields. The research 
is not intended to be a risk assessment.
    The FRAP includes: (1) A Literature Review/Gap Analysis; (2) Tire 
Crumb Characterization research; (3) Exposure Characterization 
research; and (4) A Playground Study. A status report was previously 
released describing activities of the FRAP as of December 2016 (EPA/
600/R-16/364, available at: https://www.epa.gov/tirecrumb). The status 
report included a summary of stakeholder outreach, an overview of the 
tire crumb rubber manufacturing industry, progress on the research 
activities, and the final peer-reviewed literature review/gaps analysis 
(LRGA) white paper.
    This Synthetic Turf Field Tire Crumb Rubber Research Under the 
Federal Research Action Plan Final Report: Part 1--Tire Crumb Rubber 
Characterization summarizes the findings from the Tire Crumb 
Characterization research effort. While the research under the FRAP is 
not a risk assessment, the results of the research described in this 
and future reports will advance the understanding of exposure to inform 
the risk assessment process. The Part 1 report currently being posted 
has been through external peer review. A summary of these comments is 
included in Appendix V. A response-to-peer review comments document 
will be released along with Part 2.
    More information is available at https://www.epa.gov/tirecrumb 
concerning the timeline of the report. Feedback about the study and 
report can be sent to recycledtirecrumb@epa.gov. Information collected 
as part of the Exposure Characterization research under the FRAP (Part 
2) will be released at a later date. Part 2 will include information 
from a biomonitoring study initiated by CDC/ATSDR to investigate 
potential exposure to constituents in tire crumb rubber infill. The 
timeline and information about Part 2 will be posted to the agency's 
website as it becomes available. CPSC is also conducting the work on 
playgrounds and results from that effort will be reported separately.

    Dated: July 8, 2019.
Timothy Watkins,
Director, National Exposure Research Laboratory.
[FR Doc. 2019-15761 Filed 7-24-19; 8:45 am]
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