EPA Crumb Rubber Study

Agency issues status update and projected timeline for final report

Earlier this year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) launched a multi-agency action plan to study key environmental human health questions.

Scientists are gathering tire crumb samples from tire crumb manufacturing plants and from fields across the country. The samples will be evaluated to characterize the chemical make-up of tire crumbs. Scientists will also gather activity data from people who regularly perform activities on turf fields.

To date, the Synthetic Turf Fields with Tire Crumb Rubber Infill Research Protocol document has been extensively reviewed, including a peer-review and an Institutional Review Board review, and the document is now final.

Data collection components of the Federal Research on Recycled Tire Crumbs went through a public comment period and an Information Collection Request review conducted by the Office of Management and Budget. Peer-review and public comments are available on the OMB’s website.

With the study protocol document approved, researchers are collecting tire crumb samples from up to 40 fields –both indoor and outdoor– and up to nine tire crumb manufacturing plants located across the country. For privacy protection, the specific locations of the sample fields cannot be released.

While additional research questions may require evaluation beyond this year, the information will help answer some of the key questions that have been raised, EPA said. By late 2016, the agencies will release a draft status report describing the findings and conclusions of the research through that point in time. The report will also outline any additional research needs and next steps. Updates about the study are available online at: www.epa.gov/tirecrumb

© Scrap Tire News, September 2016