Crumb rubber plowed from Surrey sports fields putting fish at risk, biologist warns

A retired biologist is raising the alarm about toxic chemicals that could be making their way into the environment from sports fields in Surrey.

John Werring, an expert in fish and wildlife habitat, says the problem is large volumes of “crumb rubber” that was scraped off artificial turf fields at Hjorth Road Park when the city cleared them of snow. Crumb rubber is used in artificial turf fields as a shock absorbent.

As the piles of cleared snow melted, they left small crumb rubber beads — which are made from recycled car tires — in piles.

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“It’s raining, it’s leeching all the material and dropping it into the storm drains,” he told Global News.

“And the storm drains are what leads to the fish habitat.”

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Werring’s concern is a chemical known as 6PPD-quinone that is used in car tires to keep them from cracking.

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Research has linked the chemical to fish die-offs, particularly in juvenile coho salmon.

“When they have gone and measured runoff water just from the street, let alone piles like this, they have noticed that the fish that are exposed … would die within a matter of hours, it’s’ that toxic,” Werring said.

Werring said he’s called the city to complain, but no one has come to clear the piles of rubber material.

The City of Surrey says the piles are the result of snow clearing work, and that its usual practice is to return the crumb back to the playing fields once the snow has melted.

“The infill material used on Surrey’s artificial turf fields is tested to confirm the composition of the material and tested against provincial and national standards to ensure safety,” the city said in a statement.

“Also, the City has a series of catch basins and slit drains in place that are designed to pick up any migrating material before it can make its way to fish habitat.”

But Werring said after two weeks the damage has been done, and there is “absolutely no question” material had made its way to a nearby creek.

“If somebody saw me take a scoop full of this material and dump it down a storm drain and they called the bylaw officer, the bylaw officer would be breathing down my neck and probably fine me,” Werring said.

“And here we have the city itself undertaking this kind of facility and no action.”