Sure, it looks so green and fake, but were anti-turf proponents in Glen Ridge on to something more sinister? From CNN.com
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking into the possible health hazards of lead in artificial turf installed at schools, parks and stadiums across the country.Two fields in New Jersey -- Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken and a playing surface at the College of New Jersey in Ewing -- were voluntarily closed after state health officials found up to 10 times the amount of lead that is allowed in soil on contaminated sites that are being turned into homes. The government has no standard for how much lead is allowable in artificial turf.
"We have a great deal of interest into any consumer product that could be used by children where children could potentially be in harm's way because of lead exposure," CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson said.
New Jersey found itself at the forefront of the issue after state health authorities stumbled onto the lead while investigating whether runoff from a scrap-metal operation in Newark had contaminated an adjacent playing field.
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The lead issue applies only to the original Astroturf surface material - the newer, FieldTurf surface (shown in photo) has been tested and does not have lead.