It’s been announced that current EU chemicals laws, including REACH, are to be incorporated into UK law. This decision will have an impact upon regulation in this country and is good news for sports clubs who are currently investing in new artificial pitches.
Why is this development important?
With the ongoing public concern regarding the safety of black rubber crumb to people and the environment, this announcement signifying consistent regulations across the whole of Europe can only be a good thing. REACH continues to investigate the effect of crumb rubber and this research will likely inform UK legislation in the future. Furthermore, this decision being made now to incorporate EU chemicals laws should also ensure that the regulations will stay the same even after Brexit.
What is REACH?
REACH is a European Union regulation which looks at the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and restriction of Chemicals, and it has several aims:
To provide a high level of protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals.
To make the people who place chemicals on the market (manufacturers and importers responsible for understanding and managing the risks associated with their use.)
To allow the free movement of substances in the EU market.
I’m looking to install an artificial pitch, why does this change affect me?
REACH sets the limit of Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that a product can contain and also how it is classified. PAH’s have been linked to causing risk to human health, so for any business financing a new pitch it’s important that you know what you are buying and the potential implications of the product you are choosing to use.
Products classified as an article, such as artificial turf, are only allowed to have a concentration limit of 1mg/kg = 0.0001% by weight of this component, for toys this can only be 0.5mg. Where a product is classified as mixture, such as artificial pitch infill, the concentration of PAHs can be much higher.
How can clubs future-proof their artificial pitch investments?
With ever-greater focus being placed on rubber crumb, combined with the ongoing research REACH is undertaking to understand more about the potential effects of SBR, many specifiers are looking for alternative artificial infills that are known to be 100% safe.
Here at Murfitts, we created PRO-gran to exceed REACH’s requirements as an article to enable clubs to future-proof their investments. This means that should current legislation change and become more stringent, customers who have installed PRO-gran can be safe in the knowledge that their pitch can still be used and that the infill is safe for the players as well as the wider environment.
Not only this, but PRO-gran actually enhances performance – it’s not just 100% safe, but it also offers the best playing experience of any other infill.