Supporting Our Kids With Safe Fields

To the editor: There has been ongoing discussion about the School Improvement Plan and whether modern turf can meet Nantucket’s environmental and safety standards. We share the community’s commitment to protecting our aquifer and want to put out information that reflects current science, modern materials and the realities our kids are facing on the fields.

The School Improvement Plan installs new grandstands and lighting, provides ADA access, replaces the cinder track with an asphalt track, and replaces the grass on Vito Capizzo Stadium. No new fields will be added. The project cost exceeds 20 million dollars. After significant feedback about field conditions and the proposed asphalt track, including a petition signed by 300 students, the district hired Weston and Sampson to conduct independent testing of the proposed turf.

Concerns about PFAS often stem from drinking water standards. The EPA’s “no safe level” guidance applies to daily ingestion over decades, not trace levels in turf. If interpreted broadly, many common items: cars, roofs, siding, clothing, cosmetics, phones, food containers, insulation, adhesives, and building materials would be affected, including materials used in this project. Independent 2024–2025 studies show PFAS in turf is far below health-based benchmarks, posing no significant risk.

Concerns about chemicals and microplastics usually reflect older turf systems, which Nantucket is not considering. Modern turf uses materials like cork, EPDM, TPE-coated sand, or BrockFILL, meets strict safety standards, sheds minimal material, and has containment systems to prevent migration. Even natural grass can introduce microplastics through maintenance, line paint, and soil amendments, as do common materials like roofing, insulation, and paints.

Usage and performance are key. While professional athletes may prefer natural grass, their fields see only about 20 hours of play per year. Nantucket’s fields exceed 1,000 hours annually, making natural grass unsafe, unhealthy, and requiring over 1.7 million gallons of water per year, even during drought. Nantucket Public Schools also does not have anything close to the annual budget required to maintain a natural grass field at an NFL level. Professional teams often spend millions of dollars each year maintaining and re-sodding their natural grass fields. Modern turf is designed for high-use school and community environments that require dependable and safe surfaces.

Injury comparisons should reflect real conditions. The appropriate comparison is not turf vs professional level grass but turf vs heavily overused school grass. NFL and NFLPA data from third-party firm IQVIA show non-contact lower extremity injury rates are similar on turf and grass. A 2024 study in the Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine found concussions on natural grass caused more severe symptoms than those on turf.

Modern turf is also recyclable. A facility in Rockland, Massachusetts, currently recycles 80 to 100 fields per year through a mechanical separation process.

As parents and coaches, we believe students deserve safe, dependable, and consistently available fields. When 300 students signed a petition in a single day, they made their needs clear. This isn’t a choice between athletics and the environment, it’s about using modern science, responsible testing, and updated materials to support the well-being of Nantucket’s kids and community.

Graham Veysey
Kate Garrette
Jennie Cook
Jim Pignato
Tracy Nichols
Erin Myers
Jenne Atherton
Bruce Beni
Craig Beni
Jocelyn Beni
Daniel Bartlett
Brian Borgeson
Rich Brannigan
Rich Brannigan II
Jurgita Budaite
Hillari Chatti
Germano Chatti
Julia Chumack
Sergey Chumack
Shannon Considine
Pat Considine
Nikki Drew
Peter Engen
Bryan Frascati
Dalton Frasier
Jennifer Frazier
Corey Gammill
Tom Garrette
Rob Giachetti
Caleb Gomes
Jenny Hanlon
Tom Hanlon
Preston Harimon
Tandi Harimon
Steve Hollister
Virginia Kostadinova
Kim Latlippe
JP Latlippe
Doug Lebrecht
Gina Lebrecht
Jami Lower
Nat Lowell
Amanda Massey
Doug Massey
Susan McCarthy
Courtney McKechnie
Greg McKechnie
Amy Olson
Jimmy Olson
Diane O'Neil
Jody Paterson
Rachel Paul
Justin Quinn
AJ Ryder
Jamie Roberts
Matt Roberts
Abby Slosek
Candice Tétrault
Tim Vieth
Romelys Vasquez
Elizabeth Weber
Lisa Wisentaner