Leaching of zinc from rubber infill on artificial turf(football pitches)

摘要

Many artificial football pitches are treated with a rubber infill made ofrecycled tyres. From this material zinc leaches to the soil, groundwaterand surface water. [This can present significant environmental risks,particularly for aquatic life.] Human health risks posed by leaching ofzinc are negligible as zinc concentrations in the water do not exceeddrinking water standards.In the present study a targeted environmental risk assessment isperformed for zinc in rubber infill on football pitches. The main focuswas on the release of zinc from the rubber infill, i.e. the zinc load,the distribution of zinc between the soil, groundwater and surface water. Ageing of the rubber crumbs appears to be of major importance forestimating zinc releases. The study used simple calculation models andrealistic input values, and assumed an increasing zinc release due toageing of the rubber.Environmental quality standards for zinc in surface water and groundwaterare exceeded. The study shows that zinc from the rubber infill is eitheremitted mainly to the surface water (when a drainage system has beenconstructed on clay or peat soils) or mainly to groundwater (in naturallywell-drained sandy soils). The study showed that the predictedconcentrations of zinc in soil, under typical Dutch drainage conditions,also exceeds environmental quality standards.The predicted zinc load is relatively high. For comparison, the zinccriteria in the Dutch Building Materials Decree are exceeded, and theleaching rate of zinc from rubber crumbs is up to 20 times greater thanthe local leaching of zinc from agricultural applications of manure andpesticides. The results can be used to assist decision-making on the useof rubber infill on football pitches where an environmental riskassessment is required.