Artificial Turf Sports Fields are Unhealthy for Children and Other Living Things

A thinly researched, more than eight-million-dollar plan to significantly modify Gardner Stadium in Opelousas, Louisiana, calls for artificial turf, a product developed for indoor fields that, when installed outdoors, creates a potentially deadly mix of heat, impact injuries, and toxic chemical exposures that threaten the health of players, coaches, fans, and the environment. 

Construction bids exceeded eight million dollars, so the Mayor’s office is working to lower costs. Natural turf is a good place to start since it is more affordable and, in the long run, produces a healthier facility that is less likely to cause injury, heat stroke, and future legal liability for the city, the Opelousas Downtown Development District (ODDD), and the school district.

An artificial turf field is basically an asphalt parking lot overlaid with thin layers of plastic carpet. Initially developed for the world’s first large indoor stadium, the Astrodome, “astroturf” was created out of convenience, not scientifically designed to improve the game but to make sports possible on an indoor, paved surface. It was not crafted (and has not successfully been improved) to reduce injuries or enhance performance; it was designed to endure. 

A natural turf field is a living surface of soil and plants that cushions athletes and exposes children to a healthy mix of microbes, moisture, and oxygen. The grass and soil of a natural field absorb and filter rainfall; when it lands on paved, plastic grass landscapes, it becomes a poisonous soup that contaminates streams and groundwater.

Artificial turf exposes players to impact injuries, extreme heat, and toxic chemicals that outgas into the air and are directly absorbed by their bodies via inhalation and scrapes and scratches known as “turf burn.” This abrasiveness is why many professional football players wear fabric tape over their elbows.

Globally, the deadliest weather phenomenon is heat, which kills more people annually than storms, floods, or cold. In a rapidly warming world, artificial turf fields put children, coaches, and fans at greater risk for heat stroke that can permanently damage brains and other vital organs. These fields can easily reach deadly temperatures of 130 to 150 degrees or higher on a ninety-degree day, creating a potentially fatal scenario. Last August, there were thirty-five emergency calls for heat stroke at a single UL-Lafayette football game. 

It should come as no surprise that heat-related deaths of high school football players are happening, with five fatalities in just three southern states since July 2024. Those teenage boys died simply because they wanted to play football; they were failed by adults who had the responsibility to protect them.

Adding to heat risk is the fact that because the plastic turf is underlaid by asphalt, injuries like concussions, blown knees, and shattered ankles occur at a much higher rate than on natural grass. This rate of injuries is the primary reason why ninety-two percent of the members of the NFL Players Association voted last year to demand that all thirty NFL stadiums install real grass. Professional soccer players agree, and the World Cup is played on natural turf.

The health threats of synthetic turf fields are myriad. Plastic grass is flammable and impregnated with fire retardant, often a “forever chemical” proven to cause cancer. Shredded tires are spread over the turf to keep the “blades” up and add additional cushion. This infill also contributes to airborne microplastic pollution and yet more potential for cancer, lung and liver damage, and other developmental problems.

Because these harms are now more commonly known, the city could face future lawsuits by parents whose children become permanently impaired because artificial turf was chosen as a convenience even though professional footballers reject it as dangerous. 

The decision by the mayor and the ODDD to stick with the current plans is guaranteed to end the careers of high school athletes randomly for decades and add the potential for cancer and other diseases later in life. In the years to come, those teenagers who suffer concussions, blown knees, shattered ankles, and failing health will find that their suffering might have been prevented if the city and ODDD had done their research and listened to the science and the professionals.

Sports like football, baseball, and soccer were invented outdoors, where weather and field conditions add their wildcard impacts to the game. Children need contact with grass and soil to build their immune systems, and they deserve to play in as much safety as science, budgets, and our loving care allow. Keeping the grass in Gardner Stadium is a simple way to save money and protect future generations, and that’s what we should all expect from our public leaders.