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The main sports field of Mount Anthony Union High School is in a rough condition. The conditions at Bennington School are so bad that sports teams can’t use it for practice and can only use it in autumn games. 

In recent years, this has prompted Ashley Hoyt, the school's director of activities, to study the school's choice. On November 2, the residents of the school district will vote to decide whether to spend $3.5 million to upgrade the Spinelli Complex, which includes the upgraded multi-purpose building, rails, and an 82,500-square-foot composite building based on the engineer's conceptual plan. Turf field. 

Although many people agree that the current field does not work for athletes and coaches, some people worry that synthetic turf may contain toxic chemicals PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are known to cause a series of harmful substances. Health effects, including cancer, when ingested. 

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ChemFab, a former Teflon coating company owned by Saint-Gobain, has widespread PFAS pollution in Bennington, which continues to affect residents, including a significant impact on drinking water. 

In the report sent to school management, the manufacturer of the synthetic turf field and runway assured MSK Engineering and Goldstone Architecture participating in the project that these materials did not contain the emerging category of toxic "permanent chemicals", and advocated that the field point to Vermont Existing lawn fields elsewhere in the state. 

But those who oppose the artificial turf project—including state legislators, a former official of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Vermont Natural Resources Commission, and the Vermont Conservation Voter—represent that the risks outweigh the benefits. 

They expressed concern about the most common PFAS test in turf, which may not be able to determine the full scope of the chemical category. Jon Groveman, director of policy and water programs at the Vermont Natural Resources Commission, reviewed the manufacturer's tests and did not consider them to be conclusive. 

The report only includes dozens of chemicals in the PFAS category, but Grofman said there are thousands of other chemicals that have not yet been regulated. 

"As far as we know, there is a way to actually perform further analysis and prove that there are indeed no thousands of PFAS in the product," he said. "But it's not finished yet."

Earlier this year, Governor Phil Scott signed Act 36, which prohibits the sale of certain PFAS-containing products in the state, such as fire-fighting foam, food packaging, carpets, and ski wax. According to the New York Times, on Monday, federal officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency made progress in restricting the types of chemicals in consumer products. 

"If it exists, then Bennington will have a problem," said Lauren Hill, executive director of the Vermont Voter Protection Organization. "Any community that chooses to focus on this may end up inadvertently bringing PFAS into their community, and then have to deal with the potential health and environmental risks that follow."

Senator Brian Campion of D-Bennington, who sponsored Bill 36, said that lawmakers need to continue to investigate this issue.

He said: "If you look at the actions that the state has taken, we will increasingly try to keep PFAS away from our environment." "So as long as we can do it, I think we will continue to do it."

Anthony Hill Unified School District Chairman Tim Holbrook said that synthetic turf has become a popular choice for schools in recent years. 

"This is not something we invented," he said. "There are four or five different high schools in Vermont that have them. As far as we know, no one has had any problems with them."

The Mount Anthony Unified School District Committee is scheduled to hear a series of opinions on the matter at its regular meeting on Wednesday night, and plans to hold an additional information meeting for the public later this month. 

Andrew Gilbert is a senior at Mount Anthony. He likes to play football and lacrosse. He wants to see a new Spinelli complex that will allow more The team can play and practice. 

"When you graduate from middle school and elementary school, take part in sports, especially football, on Spinelli on Friday night-you won't beat that atmosphere," he said. 

Football and rugby teams play on the field, but all practice and all other sports are included in other fields to avoid the abrasion that has caused uneven terrain. Sports director Hoyt said she saw the terrain causing injuries. 

"At the end of the football and football season, the stadium was completely swallowed up," Hoyt said. "If you are going to walk our site, right now, the entire center is just a large block of soil. There is an uneven surface. To be honest, at this point, we don't even have grass."

She said other venues-where practice and other sports games are held-do not have enough spectator seats, cannot be wheelchairs, and are often flooded. 

A fact sheet published on the board’s website along with some other documents related to the project stated that artificial turf is becoming more and more popular because it does not contain fertilizers and pesticides, it reduces water and maintenance costs, and Increased the number of possible matches and time on the field. It also stated that the field "reduced injuries due to improved and flat playing fields", but studies have shown that synthetic turf leads to a higher rate of lower limb injuries. 

In February 2020, the school board convened an ad hoc committee of coaches, administrators, board members, and community members to review options for upgrading the lawn. Hoyt said they studied natural turf, but even her so-called turf "Cadillac" did not have enough playability and durability. 

"This field still needs a lot of care and maintenance," she said. "We still paint the venue several times a week. That's not what we want."

The committee voted unanimously in March 2021 to recommend the use of artificial turf. In September, MSK Architects and Goldstone Architecture submitted a feasibility study report to the board of directors. The voting is scheduled for November 2nd. 

Holbrooke said: "The board is very, very clear that they don't want an area that could harm anyone." "This is of course the most important."

Environmentalists have raised a series of concerns about the proposed areas, ranging from microplastic pollution to the temperature of lawn fields and the risk of PFAS contamination. PFAS has been found in various types of lawns across the country. 

Scientists at the Children’s Environmental Health Center at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai expressed concern about children’s exposure to recycled rubber, which is usually contained in turf.

Grofman said: "All we have learned from working with the national coalition to solve these problems is that these risks are not worth taking." "The more we learn about these chemicals, the more dangerous they are."

Hierl and Vermont Conservation Voters say she is concerned about disposing of synthetic materials after the useful life of the turf—a school board document states that if properly maintained, the turf may last about 15 years. 

Hierl serves on the Montpellier City Council, where the city’s wastewater treatment facility receives landfill leachate from Coventry. The PFAS readings emitted by the Montpellier plant are already high. 

"It caused these chain reaction problems downstream," she said. "For us, it tries to assess the costs and benefits and risks you bear, and hopes that any community will keep its eyes open."

Senator Chris Bray of D-Addison said that the Health and Welfare Committee of the legislature, as well as the Natural Resources Committee and Energy Committee, which he chairs, have been working to reduce the presence of toxic chemicals in the state, especially in schools. He said that Burlington High School had to relocate after PCBs were found on campus. 

"I'm thinking about caution and responsibility," Bray said. "I just want to be very careful to bring anything that may be toxic into the state, the period, and especially the school. Then Bennington itself has a very sensitive history in PFAS."

Judith Enck, who served as a district administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency during the Obama administration and is now a senior researcher at Bennington College, said that she recommended not to use synthetic turf, which she described as a "plastic shag carpet." 

She said that she is worried about PFAS, but she also has other concerns. Synthetic turf can also create a hotter surface and cause microplastic contamination. She believes that the state should ban the use of plastic lawns.

"The irony is that a community that is negatively affected by toxic chemicals in drinking water might even consider putting this material on children's playgrounds," she said. 

Town officials asked whether PFAS entering the environment would affect Saint-Gobain’s responsibility to clean up Bennington’s existing pollution. The Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection Peter Walker said that this situation may not affect the existing settlement between the company and the state government.

Walker said that if the school releases PFAS and affects the wells in the settlement, Saint-Gobain can ask the school to help pay for cleaning up. 

"We think this is unlikely," he said. “The water supply pipeline in the area where the school is located either already exists or will be extended to cover the wells affected by PFAS contamination, so we don’t expect this to be a major issue.”

Campion wanted to know who would be responsible for cleaning up the potential pollution-he said that the cost should not be borne by the taxpayer. 

"I think we all really believe that children should have a good space to play and explore track and field sports," Campion said. "But it must be safe. It absolutely must be safe for children, and absolutely must be safe for today's and tomorrow's environment."

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Emma Cotton is a report by a member of the US Army Corps, with special attention to issues of importance to Southern Vermont. She previously worked as a reporter for Addison Independent, covering political, business, artistic and environmental issues. She has also served as an assistant editor for Vermont Sports Magazine and VT Ski + Ride. Emma majored in science journalism at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida, where she was the editor-in-chief of Current. She won first prize for environmental reporting from the New England Newspapers and Press Association for a series of reports on agriculture and water quality in Addison County.

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