Measurement of heavy elements and environmental pollutants in artificial grass

Subject Areas : Environmental pollutions (water, soil and air)

Alaleh Gholipour Peyvandi ¹ , Mojgan Zaeimdar ² , Hooman Bahman pour ³ , Saeid Malmasi ⁴

1 - Ph.D. Student of Environmental Science, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Assistant Prof., Department of Environment, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
3 - Assistant Prof., Department of Environment, Shahrood Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrood, Iran. *(Corresponding Author)
4 - Assistant Prof., Department of Environment, North Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.

Received: 2023-07-12 Accepted : 2024-06-15 Published : 2024-09-03

Keywords: environmental monitoring, heavy metals, pollutant compounds, sports flooring, artificial grass,

Abstract :

Background and Objective: The aim of the research is to measure the elements and toxic compounds in artificial grass floors used in sports and recreational areas.

Material and Methodology: This research is applied and laboratory method. Heavy elements, monomer, free hydrocarbon and phenolic compounds were measured. To measure the pollutants, ICP-OES model Vista Pro and visible and ultraviolet spectrophotometer model 1240 mini were used. The experiments were repeated three times. Time-weighted average (OEL-TWA) was used to determine the exposure limit.

Findings: The most compound in the structure of this type of flooring belongs to titanium oxide (TiO2) compound with 4780 ppm, followed by dioctyl phthalate with 2800 ppm and then isoprene with 2670 ppm. The analysis of inorganic compounds shows that the highest element content in the structure of this type of flooring belongs to zinc element (Zn) with 1507 ppm and then cobalt element (Co) with 145 ppm. The results showed that there is a big difference between the standard and the permissible limit of pollutants with the numbers obtained from the tests. 2 pollutants arsenic and chromium with "confirmed human carcinogenicity" were identified in the artificial grass structure. Silica was also identified as "pollutants suspected of carcinogenicity in humans". Lead was also identified as "confirmed animal carcinogen with unknown relevance to humans" and 11 cases were assessed as "not classifiable as a human carcinogen".

Discussion and Conclusion: Some of the elements and compounds in the structure of sports flooring have a range higher than the standards and permissible limits of exposure, which can affect the health of users, and on the other hand, it has the possibility of harming the environment.

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