Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Now it's time for a Health and Climate Tuesdays section of the show.

Today we have one topic that has potential implications for both, on the ground health risks and the longer term

ones from climate change. And when I say on the ground health risks, I mean it literally in this

case because the topic is turf. You know, the fields that so many kids and grown-up athletes

are playing on now. Why is this a climate story? Because there are important

climate-related trade-offs with artificial turf versus well-maintained grass fields and shorter-term

health risks. Well, more and more instead of grass. It is artificial turf. They are plastic

blades over rubber pellets, one way to describe them, that people are playing on.

Plastic blades over rubber pellets.

Is that a health risk if you spend a lot of time in contact with all that?

There are now about 18,000 turf fields across North America is the statistic we've seen,

with another 1,500 being added each year.

The case for turf is that it saves money in the long run and holds up in all weather,

but there are also some big disadvantages.

Scientists point to chemicals in the rubber infill.

Environmental groups raise concerns about microplastics and waste, and the heat on

turf can get so extreme that it has been known on occasion to melt cleats.

The science so far is inconclusive on a lot of the health-related aspects, but parents and schools

and governments and athletes themselves are weighing in and wrestling

with the tradeoffs. We'll talk about all this now with Michael J. Corrin. He has a column at the

Washington Post called Climate Coach. One of his recent articles or columns is headlined,

why one epidemiologist won't let his kids play on artificial turf fields.

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