September 2015:
“As a parent of two young boys, I am deeply troubled by the uncertainty that consumers, especially parents, experience when it comes to their children potentially being exposed to harmful chemicals in consumer products. Parents do not care which agency does what when it comes to the safety of crumb rubber—they just want to know whether crumb rubber, as part of an artificial turf field or as playground fill, is safe for their children to play on. And they deserve to know that answer.
As long as I am Chairman, CPSC will continue to work closely with our federal and state partners toward ending the uncertainty surrounding crumb rubber. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is planning to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of crumb rubber, and CPSC staff will provide the state with technical assistance. This will be a new and important study into human exposure and the impact on human health from crumb rubber.
As the science around chronic exposure to chemicals often does not provide as much clarity as we all wish it would, I cannot guarantee a clear answer will emerge. I can only guarantee we will keep working at it with our federal and state partners. Developing the science will also unfortunately take time. Progress will remain slow until Congress finally treats the potential exposure of our children to harmful chemicals as the public health priority that it should be."
October 2015:
“First and foremost, parents deserve answers. As a parent of two young boys, I want to know if products such as crumb rubber are safe for our children or not. While CPSC will continue to work with our federal partners to prevent children from being exposed to harmful chemicals, our agency is not big enough to do everything we want and need to do. With more funding and more enhanced legal authorities from Congress, the federal government can do far more. Progress will remain slow—and much-needed clarity will be delayed—until Congress finally treats potential exposure to harmful chemicals as the public health priority that it should be.”