Area athletic directors: No lead issues with turf
Concerns raised in New Jersey were with older fields made by AstroTurf.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
MIDDLETOWN — A recent report about two artificial turf athletic fields in New Jersey testing with high levels of lead has raised some eyebrows around the state, but several high school athletic directors in Butler and Warren counties say they have little to be concerned about.
Hamilton's Mike Dellapina and Franklin's Rodney Roberts expressed little worry about their respective fields, both of which were opened for use in the 2007-08 school year.
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Get latest headlines via RSS feeds"The Motz Group was proactive in sending me an e-mail last week and again (Tuesday) about the situation," Dellapina said of the company that installed turf at both schools among several others in the area. "That was one thing that really impressed me about them, too — being very responsive to their clients."
Early reports have cited lead problems with older nylon-based turfs made by AstroTurf. No problems have been reported in newer turfs that have polyethylene — such as the fields installed at Hamilton and Franklin.
"I know at Franklin we will do whatever is right to make sure our kids our safe," said Roberts, who added he received a forwarded e-mail by The Motz Group from Franklin's business manager Jeff Johnson. "We have not spoken about the issue yet, but I don't have any worries about our field. I'm sure we will do everything possible to assure everything is OK for our kids."
Dellapina and Roberts expressed their happiness with the turf.
"It's really proved to be as versatile as advertised," Dellapina said.
HHS uses the field for football, boys and girls soccer, and band. Even the baseball and softball teams practiced on it during the wet spring when their fields weren't usable. Hamilton also shares use of the field with Badin for football and boys and girls soccer.
"We couldn't be happier," Roberts said. "It's absolutely proven its worth for us."
Franklin also uses its field for football and soccer, as well as allowing Middletown Christian football, a semi-pro football team and several other organizations to share in its use.
Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2852 or sweaver@coxohio.com.
