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The European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association (ETRMA) has welcomed and lauded a European Commission’s decision to lower the concentration limit of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in synthetic turf infill materials. The news came from the European Rubber Journal (ERJ) on July 26. The magazine writes that on July 20, the European Commission lowered the limit of PAHs in granules and mulches used as infill materials for synthetic turf or playgrounds from the current 100mg/kg to 20mg/kg.

This post is a summary of numerous researches and articles published by European and American research institutions. Dozens of independent researches carried out in Europe and U.S. throughout the past decade inferred that tire-derived rubber infill in the artificial turf poses no threat to human health. Researchers assert unanimously that exposure of athletes’ skin to crumb rubber infill on stadiums and playgrounds yields no elevated risk of cancer. As the issue has been assuming additional importance, it achieved the level of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) which, together with the European Committee of Standardization, carried out comprehensive researches about crumb rubber exposure on human health.

State-of-the-art pyrolysis processes are an efficient, viable and sustainable approach for the valorisation of end-of-life tires (ELT) into oil, gas and recovered Carbon Black (rCB). They are thus an important step towards the transition to a low carbon, more sustainable, resource efficient, circular economy in line with the EU Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

European Commission asks the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) to assess potential risks in playgrounds. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in synthetic turf infill materials will be reviewed for potential risks by ECHA. The European Commission (EC) ordered the agency to analyze any dangers to children in a letter dated January 6 to ECHA executive director Sharon McGuinness. The study's scope includes loose mulches and granulated PAHs used in playgrounds, gardens and landscaping. According to the EC, the assessment's goal is to determine if the respective applicable concentration limits for eight PAHs found in infill materials are effective.

270 tire pyrolysis units will be closed in India at the request of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which claimed that 19 states failed to comply with environmental regulations; the corresponding order has been issued by the National Green Tribunal (NGT). The list of the states practicing unsafe pyrolysis include Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, as noted by the local media.

Commercial applications of end-of-life tires (ELT) as crumb rubber infill in sports pitches are unlikely to see any changes after the scientific committees of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) granted their new approval, Fazilet Cinaralp, secretary of the European Tyre & Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA) said. According to the ECHA’s findings, infill material with levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) below 20 ppm pose no harm to athletes.

In 2021, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) is continuing undertaking efforts to ban crumb rubber – recycled rubber granulate from shredded end-of-life tires – from artificial turf and playgrounds. ECHA’s intent to restrict the use of crumb rubber started back in 2019 when the organization, allegedly, found a scientific evidence against the use of recycled tire rubber in synthetic turf. Despite ECHA’s assertions, there hasn’t been a single scientific proof of human health risks caused by crumb rubber in other studies and research carried out by numerous research institutions worldwide.

The innovation forum "Scrap Tire Recycling" (AZuR) sponsored by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany recently published a large-scale study for its partners. The study is focused on the market positions and requirements of end-of-life tire recyclers and manufacturers of products from recycled tire rubber. Below, we are citing the original article published on the website of AZuR in May 2021. To read the original text in German, please proceed to AZuR’s website.