Through the pretty country we have more than 1700 football pitches with kunstgressdekke. Both the width and toppfotball played in the big degree on such courses. Artificial grass has become hugely popular since it requires much less maintenance than natural grass and is very slitasjesterkt.
RESEARCHER: Lisbeth Sørensen. Photo: SINTEF Show more
Just as robust is not the environment around the football grounds – especially not in the meeting with the black balls is with out from the pitch after the end of the match. New study shows the potentially serious effects on the critters that live in seawater, freshwater and soil, when gummigranualt balls going astray and seeks out dangerous chemicals. From and year was it set stricter requirements for kunstgressbanene and the collection of these balls. But do we know enough about the pollutants that gummigranulatet stand out to be able to give good enough answers on the handling?
So will the emissions of mikroplast from the Norwegian artificial turf is stopped dinside
What is this gummigranulatet? For small and large football players to fall soft, so needed something that eases the eager case, and tackles. It is here that the rubber granule comes into the picture. 80 per cent of the Norwegian artificial turf use this as fill and dempningsmateriale. Gummigranulatet consists of 1-3 mm large pieces of oppkvernede tires – which are otherwise worn out and disposed.
In theory this is very good – re-use and new life for an otherwise useless product. But, have we in our naive eagerness seen a little too short in front of the tip of our? In the Uk we are generally quite concerned about what we release into the environment, but in this case we have simply dumped large amounts of hazardous waste. For there are two things we have not thought of in this miljøregnestykket: gummigranulatet remain on the football grounds? Where is it necessary? And what effect can it have if it is spread in the environment?
On a plain (11) kunstgressfotballbane used it approximately 100-200 tonnes of rubber granule. In Denmark it has been calculated that it must be filled at between 1.5 and 2.5 tonnes of rubber on each path each year. Transferred to Norwegian conditions means that 3000 tonnes of rubber granule “disappear” from the artificial turf every year! Where everything is made of is uncertain. Something måkes away with the snow and is dumped, something is washed away with rain and waste water and ends in water treatment plants, and a lot are with the footballers home. A forskningskampanje conducted by the INSTITUTE, Akvaplan-Niva, SINTEF, The institute of marine research, Network for environmental science and the Research council of norway in 2017 revealed that up to 65 tonnes of rubber disappears together with the players away from the playing field each year. Rubber granule will not remain on the kunstgressbanene, but spread potential in the environment.
the New regulation to bring down the emissions of mikroplast
A study of the NIBIO have seen how much rubber granule which are washed down into the soil below the artificial turf. Where they found kilovis with granuler per square meter of soil, and there are several tens of meters away from the actual path. Then, depending on the terrain and water conditions, it may spread in fresh – or seawater. Why is this dangerous?
the Problem is not necessarily gummipartiklene in itself. The earth and the seabed is full of natural particles of this magnitude. The challenge is the chemicals that these gummigranulene is loaded with. To function as the tires, with what is required of strength and flexibility, so load the rubber with a cocktail of chemicals that we in other contexts will often refer to as pollutants.
The manufacturing process for the tires leads to the formation of a part of problematic substances, as long as they are kept in covered, is not particularly problematic. But, in these dekkenes new life as a basis for fotballføtter, starts a dispersion of the pollutants in the environment.
1500 tons of plastic from the artificial turf leaks out each year. Who will clean up? dinside
Studies in project funded by the fram center have shown that large amounts of these chemicals easily leak out of the rubber granule to these ports in freshwater or seawater. Under the flagship “Hazardous substances” (harmful compounds), we have studied which chemicals these are. And, it turns out to be both heavy metals and various chemicals added to tires to increase their durability, especially to prevent that they become brittle in sunlight. At large enough concentrations, these substances are again shown itself to be highly problematic for sea life. In lab studies, we have seen serious effects on the critters that live in seawater. The same effects can be expected for the small animals that live in the soil, sediments and fresh water.
the Parliament has passed that from 1. January 2019 introduced rules that football fields need to have the proper equipment to collect up the granules. But how should this be done in practice? Do we know enough about all spredningsmekanismer to be able to establish this equipment? What with the chemicals that are washed directly out from the granuler located on the gressmatta, into the ground, and maybe on to the water in the vicinity?
This we believe it is urgent to get answer. In the meantime, we would like to encourage particularly the large fotballklubbene to go ahead and consider switching his rubber with other, environmentally friendly options, such as, for example, sand, or other environmentally friendly solutions.
Lisbeth Sørensen participating in the Arctic Frontiers 2019, where she presents results from ongoing research on the spread and effects of mikroplast and gummigranuler in the environment.
