Does exposure to artificial turf fields threaten young athletes?

Artificial turf fields are now everywhere in the United States, from high schools to multi-million-dollar athletic complexes, states a recent report by NBC News. The tiny black rubber crumbs of which the fields are made -- chunks of old tires -- get in players’ uniforms, their hair, and in their cleats.

Exposure for goalkeepers, who  are in constant contact with the turf, can be far worse, according to the report. In practices and games, they make hundreds of dives, and each plunge sends a black cloud of tire pellets into the air. The granules get into their cuts and scrapes, and into their mouths. Coaches now wonderif those crumbs – which have been known to contain carcinogens and chemicals – are making players sick.