News

Crumb rubber fields to be tested for possible link to cancer

EVERETT, Wash. — There's a major development in the fight over artificial fields made out of crumb rubber.

Quick Facts:

  • Tests to be done nationwide to see if there is link to caner
  • Everett Boys and Girls Club field will be tested
  • Edmonds School district going ahead with field at old Woodway HS
  • Results expected in a few months

Tests will be done nationwide, including Western Washington, to determine if there is a link between ground-up tires and cancer.

The Everett Boys and Girls Club has one of the fields being tested. The new artificial field was completed in November, but there is concern over its safety.

In Edmonds, parents have been fighting construction of an artificial field made with the same material at the old Woodway High School.

In May, Edmonds parents voiced their concerns to the school board, but construction is going forward.

The Everett Herald reports that the Everett Boys and Girls Club field was built by the Cal Ripken Senior Foundation. It paid for the field and 41 others across the nation.

Now, it will also pay for the testing at six locations, including Everett.

The Edmonds School District said it hired specialists who didn't find any health risks with their field.

"We've had no reports, in fact up until two months ago, there was no concerns regarding this,” Debbie Joyce Jakala with the Edmonds School District said.

The tests at the Everett Boys and Girls Club are being conducted by Labosport based in Montreal, Canada.

Results are expected in the next several months.

If the tests show any problems, the foundation is willing to replace all 42 fields, each costing about $50,000.