Astroturf and Brain Cancer

[The_Admiral]

Even with not knowing the breadth of CTE, you grew up playing football at least knowing that you were gonna get your bell rung. You didn't grow up playing baseball thinking that you might get brain cancer from inhaling petrochemical fumes from the plastic grass that was hastily invented because people in Houston forgot you can't grow grass in a big concrete building, which then started replacing actual grass because taxing bodies could cut down on landscaping costs.

[Red Comet]

20 hours ago, Walk-Off said:

In all seriousness, a dangerous substance can affect different people in different ways.

 

"Seth" can be exposed heavily to a given substance and then go through life without ever being prone to any addiction, having any behavioral issue, or undergoing any colorectal trouble ... but he would suffer a bout of brain cancer that kills him at a saddeningly young age.

 

Meanwhile, "Cain" can be exposed to the exact same substance at all of the exact same times, at all of the exact same places, and under all of the exact same conditions, and he ends up never suffering from brain cancer and, in fact, lives to a later-than-normal age ... but he would find himself struggling constantly with addictions, tendencies toward antisocial behaviors, and colorectal disorders throughout a life that proves to be long in a (mentally and physically) painful way.

Makes me wonder what happened to Abel.

 

And yeah, even before the extent of CTE was known, there was a general idea that players who played a game where they got hit in the head repeatedly over 20-30 years (from childhood-high school) might go on to have brain issues. Sort of like how it would make sense that inhaling smoke is probably bad for your lungs. 
 

Then again, if AstroTurf kept the original name of ChemGrass, the association between it and brain cancer would’ve probably been publicized far sooner.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Red Comet

[The_Admiral]

14 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

Makes me wonder what happened to Abel.

Oh, he got banned for stalking someone's girlfriend.

[slapshot]

Surprising that Philadelphia seems to be the epicenter, at least for reported cases. If the cancer was somehow caused by prolonged inhaling of heated chemicals in the turf, why aren't there more cases from the midwest where it tends to be warmer? Two cases listed were from Kansas City, but none have been reported so far from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or even Chicago (old Comiskey had a turf infield for many years in the 70s).

I'm sure there were plenty of minor league stadiums using that turf as well. And while football players wouldn't have the same length of time on the turf during the hottest part of the year, maybe there are unreported cases in some other outdoor turf fields in the south, like the Orange Bowl, Tulane Stadium, and Cotton Bowl.

 

Even on newer turf fields, unless they're using natural infills like sand and coconut shells, the heated crumb rubber can give off fumes, making it very hard to breathe, and sports where players spend a lot of time stationary can be very hazardous in the heat.

[The_Admiral]

I'm not sure on the minor leagues. I thought that with the exception of a few weird minor-league parks like the old mini-Vet in S/W-B, it was cheaper just to grow grass. 

 

As for how St. Louis has dodged this when they had all those triple-digit temperatures at field level, no idea other than luck.

[slapshot]

2 minutes ago, the admiral said:

I'm not sure on the minor leagues. I thought that with the exception of a few weird minor-league parks like the old mini-Vet in S/W-B, it was cheaper just to grow grass. 

 

As for how St. Louis has dodged this when they had all those triple-digit temperatures at field level, no idea other than luck.

 

There were a lot of turf fields used in college, I'd be surprised if there weren't a lot of minor league stadiums using it as well. Even Aloha Stadium used turf, although that may have been so it was easier to transition from baseball to football. Atlanta lucked out because their cookie cutter was always grass. Same with RFK, I think, although it was only used for football when the Senators left.

 

But St. Louis was the first city I thought of with exceedingly-hot surfaces.

[Luigi74]

On 3/10/2023 at 9:38 PM, slapshot said:

Surprising that Philadelphia seems to be the epicenter, at least for reported cases. If the cancer was somehow caused by prolonged inhaling of heated chemicals in the turf, why aren't there more cases from the midwest where it tends to be warmer? Two cases listed were from Kansas City, but none have been reported so far from Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, or even Chicago (old Comiskey had a turf infield for many years in the 70s).

I'm sure there were plenty of minor league stadiums using that turf as well. And while football players wouldn't have the same length of time on the turf during the hottest part of the year, maybe there are unreported cases in some other outdoor turf fields in the south, like the Orange Bowl, Tulane Stadium, and Cotton Bowl.

 

Even on newer turf fields, unless they're using natural infills like sand and coconut shells, the heated crumb rubber can give off fumes, making it very hard to breathe, and sports where players spend a lot of time stationary can be very hazardous in the heat.

Three Rivers had 3M's Tartan Turf from 1970 to 1982, they switched to AstroTurf in 1983 and then got a newer version of AstroTurf  in 1992 or 1993. Could the timing of when AstroTurf was installed at Three Rivers cause that field to have a different chemical make-up compared to the Vet or Kaufman Stadium?