Montreal's artificial turfs safe: report

City officials say Montreal's artificial playing fields are not a significant health risk.

The Montreal public health authority issued a review Wednesday of the scientific studies on various materials used in artificial turf.

Concerns about the health risks of toxins contained in the materials used to make the turf arose this spring after fields in New Jersey were closed because the turf was made from nylon fibres containing lead concentrations 10 times higher than acceptable levels.

A 2006 study also found likely carcinogens in rubber pellets used to produce the turf. With the exception of the turf at Stade Hébert in St. Léonard, artificial fields in Montreal are made from polyethylene fibres, which are considered safer than those made from nylon.

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