MONTREAL, July 31, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- FieldTurf Tarkett, the world's largest provider of synthetic turf fields, announced an innovative leadership position whereby the company will lead an effort to reduce and ultimately eliminate lead and all other heavy metals in synthetic turf products. This announcement follows yesterday's conclusive "clean bill of health" given to the synthetic turf industry by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and is in lock step with CPSC's position on developing voluntary industry standards for lead levels in turf. FieldTurf has immediately committed to reduce the already low lead levels in its fields to barely detectable trace levels in all newly installed fields, and to continue efforts to innovate towards lead free fields in the near-future.
"As the leader in the industry and the company that invented next generation artificial turf, we have reduced lead levels in our turf products over the past few years," said FieldTurf Tarkett CEO Joe Fields. "In fact, our newer products have trace levels of lead and have been widely accepted as the standard in safety by customers all over the world. We are delighted that the CPSC has concluded there is no link between lead in synthetic turf and health risk and to support the Commission's call for voluntary standards. FieldTurf commits to our ongoing industry leadership by driving efforts to develop industry standards and accelerating a company target to eliminate lead in our fields."
On July 30, the Consumer Product Safety Commission announced (http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08348.html) that there was no health risk to young children playing on synthetic fields and that parents should not be concerned about harmful levels of lead in artificial turf. FieldTurf officials noted that the CPSC's findings were inline with those released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control, while other distinguished state departments of health have supported this safety profile.
Fields added, "While we have always believed our polyethylene fiber fields to be safe, and when tested with the CDC and CPSC endorsed wipe test our fields have uniformly registered lead levels below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) strict limits, at the request of our customers we have made lead free fields our goal for some time now. We see our sports surfaces as part of the world's ecological system and make every effort to ensure that our activities respect the environment."
The installation of FieldTurf eliminates the use of harmful pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides, while at the same time removes thousands of tires from landfill sites. FieldTurf requires no mowing, fertilizing, reseeding or watering. FieldTurf helps organizations earn the necessary points needed for U.S. Green Building Council LEED certification. FieldTurf's reused rubber content and water use reduction, among other factors, can contribute numerous points towards LEED certification.
With over 2700 installations in almost 50 countries, FieldTurf Tarkett is the largest entity in the sports surfacing industry and provides unparalleled leasing capabilities, engineering and manufacturing resources. In addition to its world-renowned FieldTurf and Prestige brands of artificial turf, FieldTurf Tarkett provides an equally impressive range of sports flooring products that includes synthetic and hardwood basketball, volleyball and gymnasium flooring, squash and racquetball courts, floor protection and covering systems, and weight room flooring. Also in the range of FieldTurf Tarkett products are indoor and outdoor running tracks including the high performance Le Monde track system, the Resisport track system, the Beynon track surfaces, playground surfacing, commercial and residential landscaping, and a complete range of tennis and golf surfaces. For more information, visit www.fieldturftarkett.com.