Artificial lawns at 174 S. Korean schools contaminated

174 schools were found to have lawns that contain at least one substance at the level higher than the regulated amount. (Top – Yonhap, bottom – Newsis photo)

By Kim Se-jeong

Researchers said Friday artificial lawns on playgrounds of 174 schools nationwide have hazardous substances at higher levels than permitted, posing a health threat to children.

According to FITI Testing & Research Institute and Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPF), both public organizations, 1,037 schools were tested for lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chrome, benzopyrene and 11 other hazardous substances.

Of them, 174 schools were found to have lawns that contain at least one substance at the level higher than the regulated amount. Gyeonggi Province had the largest number of schools with contaminated lawns with 41, followed by Seoul, Busan, Ulsan and Daegu.

In the case of Dongji High School in Pohang, North Gyeongsang Province, the test found 472.8 milligrams of benzopyrene per kilogram in its lawns, 470 times higher than the amount allowed. Benzopyrene is known to causes lung cancer.

At Gadeok Elementary School in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, 11,733 milligrams of lead were found per kilogram.

Two schools have banned students from entering their lawns.

According to regulation, a safe level is under 90 mg/kg for lead, 50 mg for cadmium, 25 mg for hexavalent chrome, 25 mg for mercury and 1 mg for benzopyrene.

Installing artificial lawns at schools was an ambitious project by the government that cost up to 100 billion won (about $91.95 million).

Experts said the artificial lawns require stricter screening because children are physically more vulnerable. They also said contamination is more serious in the lawns that are old, suggesting schools need to replace old lawns with new ones.

Jeong Chan-sam, 45, a father of three daughters in Seoul, said the news is worrisome.

“It sounds bad,” Jeong said. Her three daughters are in third, sixth and seventh grades and all their schools have artificial lawns. “I may sound strange, but I have grown numb to news like this because this is only one of so many hazards my children will grow up with.”

The Green Party in Korea is taking the issue seriously. It said it’s time for schools to remove the artificial lawns.

“Regardless of the test results, artificial lawns already have many negative effects. They are not supposed to be at schools where our children are running around,” the party said in a statement.

Summer heat is known to heat the lawns, causing skin burn. Some experts say the laws cannot absorb the impact of children falling.

The Green Party also criticized KSPF for keeping the information secret.

“We were told that the organizations refused to release the test results. These results are related to the health of our children and people have a right to know critical information promptly.”

The KSPF was not available for comment.

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