Questions and Answers
Information for answers gathered from project coordinator Activitas, available research, and expert experience.
Q. Why is Dover-Sherborn Regional High School planning to resurface the existing synthetic turf field?
A. The existing synthetic turf carpet has reached the end of its useful life. Seam failures are a regular occurrence (frequency is exponentially increasing). Patches have been installed in the high-use areas of the lacrosse creases which create inconsistencies in the levelness of the surface and the firmness of the field is approaching critical levels.
Q. Are PFAS intentionally used in the production of the turf fibers, backings, or any other synthetic turf materials?
A. No. The acceptable synthetic turf manufacturers listed in project specifications are committed to the highest quality standards for synthetic turf systems. Their components and raw materials contain no intentionally added PFAS, including PFAS-based processing aids. Additionally, the project specifications require a statement from the synthetic turf manufacturer that no intentionally added PFAS were used in the fabrication of the synthetic turf system and related components. All the manufacturers also test their products on a regular basis to ensure conformance with their statements and standards.
Q. Are there PFAS in Brockfill?
A. Brockfill was tested in 2024 for Total Organic Fluorine (TOF) and the results were below detectable limits. The absence of TOF in the infill confirms that any potential PFAS would also be below detectable limits. Brockfill is a natural product that is generated from sustainably harvested pine trees in Georgia.
Q. Does the turf field end up in a landfill?
A. No, the project specifications require that the existing turf system be recycled or re- purposed and kept out of a landfill. A first-of-it’s-kind synthetic turf recycling facility in the United States is schedule to come online in the next few months in Rockland, Massachusetts. The existing field will be sent to this facility for recycling, or it will re-purposed for other uses. The project specifications require a bill of laden to prove that the existing carpet is not sent to a landfill. With Brockfill proposed to be installed, the existing rubber infill will be salvaged and reused in new field at some other location or repurposed.
Q. Do turf fields give off dangerous amounts of heat on sunny days?
A. Dover-Sherborn Regional High School Sports Medicine staff monitors temperatures to inform decisions about the safety of outdoor athletic activities during high or low temperature time periods. The surface of synthetic turf fields get warmer than the surfaces of natural turf fields on sunny days, but not on cloudy days. However, studies have been performed which show that at four feet and higher above the playing surface, air temperatures above synthetic turf fields (on sunny days) are not warmed more than ambient air temperatures above natural grass fields. In addition, synthetic turf does not ‘hold heat’ and release it after sunset, meaning that synthetic turf fields are not ‘heat islands’. Additionally, Brockfill has moisture retained in the wood particles and is released on warm days via evapotranspiration and can reduce temperatures at the surface of the field by up to 30 degrees.