The organizers of Non Toxic Portsmouth NH claimed that the turf, cushions and backing of the newly synthesized site of the Portsmouth Community Campus contained perfluorinated and polyfluoroalkyl substances, but the city’s deputy prosecutor stated that they had done their best With due diligence, the officials chose certified PFAS-free artificial turf for the project.

On Thursday morning, Ted Jankowski emailed a press release stating that independent testing of original samples of components in the field indicated the presence of PFAS.

In an interview, Yankowski explained that he was on the court on Mother's Day. Since no one was present, he took out the original sample of the turf from the trash can. Under the guidance of the Ann Arbor Ecological Center in Michigan, the materials were sent for testing.

The results showed fluorine, which Jankowski said is an indicator of PFAS.

At a city council meeting in June last year, Jankowski asked city councilors to reconsider using synthetic oil fields, but the contract for the project has been signed by city manager Karen Conard.

Conrad said at the time that as part of the signed contract, there are specifications for third-party testing.

Jankowski said that city leaders and taxpayers should be held accountable for what happened.

"They spent $1.6 million on a PFAS-free site. We could have built four state-of-the-art natural turf sites," said Jankowski. 

On Thursday afternoon, Suzanne Woodland, acting deputy city manager and deputy city attorney, said that Yankowski had not coordinated his testing with city hall officials, but she would contact him.

"Mr. Jankowski will be invited to share the details of his test with the city staff. The city has signed a contract with a lawn without PFAS. If, after reviewing any information provided, the city staff believes that further measures are necessary, the The city council will be updated," Woodland wrote in a statement.

Woodland said they have every reason to believe that the field is currently safe and does not contain PFAS.

“The city’s consulting engineers conducted toxicology tests on the actual installed on-site components and verified that the products did not contain PFAS chemicals. All test results were posted on the city’s website under the project page,” Woodland wrote. "To reiterate, the city currently has no evidence that these fields do not meet expectations, that is, they do not contain PFAS and are an important recreational resource for our community."

According to the city’s website, the turf filler should be a natural product made from crushed walnut husks, which is considered an environmentally friendly alternative to rubber or plastic fillers.

The field opened on June 9.