Tire Crumb Exposure Characterization Report (Volumes 1 and 2)
To help address concerns raised by the public about potential exposures and health effects due to the use of recycled tire rubber used on fields as infill material, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in collaboration with the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), launched a multi-agency research effort in February 2016 called the Federal Research Action Plan on the Use of Tire Crumbs in Playing Fields and Playgrounds (FRAP).
In April 2024, EPA and CDC/ATSDR released the Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization Research Final Report: Part 2 -Tire Crumb Rubber Exposure Characterization. This report is part of the FRAP and is an effort to characterize the chemicals associated with tire crumb rubber and to identify the ways in which people may be exposed to those chemicals based on their activities on synthetic turf fields and playgrounds. The Part 1 Tire Crumb Rubber Characterization Research Report from EPA and CDC/ATSDR, which was released in 2019, summarizes results for the physical, chemical, and microbiological characterization for tire crumb rubber used on synthetic turf fields.
The Part 2 Tire Crumb Rubber Exposure Characterization from EPA and CDC/ATSDR summarizes an exposure characterization and pilot-scale exposure measurements study that included collection of both indoor and outdoor field, personal, and biomarker samples for indicators of exposures; questionnaire and video-based activity assessments; and exposure modeling assessments. CDC/ATSDR completed a supplemental biomonitoring study, which is part of the Tire Crumb Exposure Characterization Report. The Part 2 report consists of two volumes; Volume 1 contains the results from the pilot exposure characterization research study and Volume 2 contains the results from the supplemental biomonitoring study, quality control/quality assurance assessments, and information about methods.
Part 1 and Part 2 reports underwent a letter external peer review by independent experts. The response to external peer review comments can be found below. The supplemental biomonitoring study (Part 2, Appendix A) was separately peer reviewed through CDC/ATSDR.
Synthetic Turf Field Recycled Tire Crumb Rubber Research Under the Federal Research Action Plan Final Report Part 2 – Exposure Characterization
TCRS Exposure Characterization Volume 1 (pdf)