Speakers discussed artificial turf multiple times during a Sept. 26 forum held by Falmouth’s Plastics Reduction Initiative. Eloise Goldsmith / The Forecaster

Discussion of the potential dangers associated with artificial turf cropped up multiple times during a Sept. 26 forum about the threats posed by plastics, which was put on by the Falmouth Conservation Commission’s Plastics Reduction Initiative.

The Plastics Reduction Initiative, which formed two years ago and is made up of five members, aims to highlight the impacts of plastics in our health and environment. The forum was the group’s first educational event aimed at public awareness, according to initiative member Pat Ianni.

The discussion comes as a nearby school district, SAD 51, plans to build an artificial turf field as part of a $53.5 million overhaul of its Greely campus in Cumberland.

The forum kicked off with a presentation by Matt Simon, the author of the book “A Poison Like No Other: How Microplastics Corrupted Our Planet and Our Bodies.”

There are 13,000 different chemicals in plastics, many of which are known to be toxic. As microplastics – bits of plastic that are between 5 millimeters and 1 nanometer – fragment, they leach chemicals, explained Simon.

He highlighted the threat of small, synthetic microfibers (a type of microplastic). Since 1950, over 6 billion pounds of microfibers have escaped our clothes and have entered bodies of water. By 2050, washing machines will be churning out 1.5 billion pounds of plastics a year.

Research shows that microplastics pose a threat to human health. Phthalate (a plasticizer chemical) exposure alone may lead to 100,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year, according to one conservative estimate, Simon said during his presentation.

According to Simon, not only is recycling plastic not effective toward combating the microplastic hazards – we don’t want an already toxic thing cycling again and again through our lives – but we don’t currently have a way to get rid of them.

Bottom line: “We need to stop producing so much plastic,” he said.

Priscilla Dreyman of South Portland asked a question about microplastics in artificial turf. Simon responded that he has “no good things to say about artificial turf” – pointing out that turf often uses chemical-containing rubber infill to give the surface a bouncy quality.

Later, attendees heard from Susan Inches, a teacher, public policy consultant and author of “Advocating for the Environment,” who moderated the panel discussion. Panelists included Lori Gramlich, a member of the Maine House of Representatives for District 131 (Old Orchard Beach); Pete Didisheim, who leads advocacy work at the Natural Resources Council of Maine; Christina Dubin, an organizer with the group Beyond Plastics; Maya Faulstich, a student at Yarmouth High School; and Sarah Woodbury, the vice president of policy and advocacy at Defend Our Health.

When asked “what brought them to the plastics issue,” Woodbury told the crowd that she became motivated to get involved in climate and health issues partly because her father was a Vietnam War veteran who was sickened by Agent Orange.

Faulstich said her focus on plastics began when she did a project in seventh grade. These days she runs Dishes on Demand, a service that offers reusable dishes for community events. At her high school, she co-leads the environmental action club where she and others are spearheading an effort to have the cafeteria switch to metal utensils.

At two points, the panelist discussion veered back to artificial turf. During her remarks, Woodbury said that she recently spoke with a school board that is planning a turf field and tried to persuade them against it. She said she wouldn’t name the district and “throw them under the bus.”

Later, one attendee asked specifically about SAD 51’s plan to build an artificial turf on the Greely campus: “I listened to a lot of the debate on that and it seemed like there were two sides of the story. This presentation from (Matt Simon) gave me the impression that it’s only one side of the story. How would you advise Cumberland moving forward?”

Woodbury said that there are some benefits to turf, like the fact that it doesn’t wear down as quickly, but overall she is not in favor of turf and would not advise other towns to take this path.

“There are all sorts of nasty chemicals in artificial turf,” she said. A 2019 report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found the presence of metals like lead and a variety of chemicals in the crumb rubber that is often used in turf. However, the report was not a risk assessment and the information can’t be used to identify a level above which health effects could occur, according to the agency.

Woodbury said turf also poses a threat because it eventually breaks down into microplastics.

No one from the SAD 51 school department spoke up during the panel discussion, though in the past school board Vice Chair Kim Vine has told The Forecaster that after doing research, school leadership feels secure in moving forward with a turf over grass option.

Health concerns related to the turf field raised by residents in North Yarmouth and Cumberland were more focused on PFAS – or “forever chemicals” – as opposed to microplastics. PFAS are artificial chemicals used in a wide range of products, such as nonstick cookware and firefighting foam, that have been linked to adverse health effects.

At the end of the forum, attendees participated in a survey where they were asked to choose their two favorite initiatives for reducing plastic. Ianni said the top ranked initiative was implementing a law that makes producers of packaging pay for the recycling of their products.

Didisheim explained that Maine became the first state in the nation to adopt an extended producer responsibility law aimed at shifting the burden of packaging waste to producers of that packaging in 2021, and recruiting municipalities to join the program. Under the law, producers will make payments directed to municipalities to help with the cost of recycling and waste management.

Rulemaking around the law is currently ongoing. The rules will be before the state Board of Environmental Protection on Oct. 17, he said. “We do need a big turnout of people,” he said, and encouraged people to come to Augusta for the adoption hearing.

The second most favored initiative was eliminating single-use plastics from school cafeterias.