Starter kit: Precaution
- Rubber powder & granulates are safe to manipulate with bare hands
- The use of gloves and safety glasses is recommended when manipulating the polyurethane binder
- Be careful about the container where you want to do the mix, the binder risks to remain into without possibility of removing it.
- The binder is volatile, you should process of the mix under a hood or outside. Avoid to breathe it.
- In case of a disposal of the materials, please bring them to your local recycling center. Do not use your personal bin.
- Especially, the polyurethane binder shall not be poured into a sink, for environmental reasons and also because it solidifies in the presence of water.
Numerous scientific studies were conducted on the potential impact end-of-life tyres products on human health. Most of the studies were focused on the use of rubber granulates in synthetic turfs, given that it is the main existing application where people are directly exposed to recycled rubber, on a regular basis. For the time being, they overall show that rubber granulates have no significant impact on human health. More informations and studies here
The environmental impact of rubber in synthetic turfs has also been analysed in several studies. One of the study was conducted in France: Environmental evaluation (Aliapur/Ademe/Tarkett, 2007).
Some elements, like zinc, can leach into the rain water. However the measured concentrations in the percolates were well below the regulatory limit :
From an ecotoxological point of view, the nature of the percolates having passed through a 3rd generation artificial pitch are proven to be without impact on the environment, irrespective of the type of filling granulates.
The emission of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) was also assessed :
In conclusion to its study, the INERIS stipulates that the health risks associated with the inhalation of VOC and aldehydes emitted by artificial surfaces on pitches in outdoor situations give no actual cause for concern as regards human health.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format ;
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit (click on 'Edit' then 'Page History' to see the authors), provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.