‘3G pitches are exposing children and teachers to cancer causing material – they need to be banned’

A leading teachers’ union has called for artificial football pitches to be banned over fears the rubber material in them is causing cancer.

NASUWT said teachers and children are being exposed to harmful chemicals when playing on 3G sports surfaces.

The UK’s other largest teachers’ unions told Metro they are also worried about the health risks and called for further research.

Campaigners and public health experts have long sounded the alarm over carcinogens and chemicals in the rubber crumb infill used on artificial pitches.

Rubber crumb, used to fill between the grass blades, is often manufactured by shredding end-of-life vehicle tyres into small granules.

This rubber – a type of microplastic – can contain heavy metals, benzene, volatile organic compounds and other carcinogens.

Researchers fear people who play on crumb pitches are exposed to these potentially hazardous particles through skin contact, inhalation and even accidental ingestion.

The European Union has committed to banning the crumb material from 2031, but the UK has not made the same pledge.

Although there have been no long-term epidemiological studies to track the health of children using artificial 3G pitches, NASUWT believes that should not stop the government from acting.

NASUWT General Secretary Matt Wrack said: ‘Children and teachers are being exposed to chemicals considered to be harmful to health.

‘We believe the Government should implement a complete ban on the installation of new 3G pitches using crumb rubber, undertake an urgent study of the available evidence and phase out existing pitches as a matter of priority, especially as cheaper alternatives exist.’

There are now 3,013 full-size and 4,419 mini artificial football pitches in England alone, according to a parliamentary answer from 2024.

NASUWT, which represents as many as 280,000 teachers, said teachers are at increased risk of exposure to rubber crumb because they supervise lessons, fixtures or extracurricular activities on 3G pitches.

They said their members had reported concerns about rubber crumb granules entering indoor spaces and being carried home on their clothing.

What have people said?

The union’s Health and Safety lead Wayne Bates told Metro: ‘Our position is that, in the absence of good quality epidemiological studies, we should be taking a precautionary approach.

‘Schools should not be installing new rubber crumb pitches.

‘There are a number of alternatives and we believe those alternatives are cheaper.

‘We don’t want to end up with children who have contracted cancer which we could have prevented.’

The UK’s other leading health unions have heaped more pressure on the government to act on rubber crumb concerns.

The National Education Union, which represents as many as 450,000 teachers, said they were also concerned about the health risks and will develop their own guidance.

The Association of School and College Leaders, and the Educational Institute of Scotland, both called for further research into the safety of 3G pitches.

Supporters of artificial turf stress that there is a lack of long-term studies into the health impacts of rubber crumb pitches.

Sport England says artificial grass pitches are safe and an integral part of modern community sport, offering significant health benefits through exercise.

What concerns are there about rubber crumb?

A report by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) last year revealed that artificial pitches are the highest source of microplastics in the environment.

It stated: ‘Early findings suggest that [microplastics] . . . may create harmful . . . reactions in the body and interfere with how cells work and stay healthy.’

A 2019 study also identified more than 300 chemicals in crumb, with under 200 of those being potentially carcinogenic.

There have been high-profile reports linking artificial sports pitches with cancer cases in athletes who regularly played on crumb rubber.

Goalkeeper Lewis Maguire died in March 2018 after being diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma when he was 15.

His father, Nigel, previously stated his belief that chemicals contained in shredded rubber on the pitches contributed to his son being diagnosed with cancer.

However, Newcastle coroner Karen Dilks concluded that Lewis died of natural causes and complications from cancer surgery.

Andy Watterson, Professor of Health at Stirling University in Scotland, told Metro about rubber crumb: ‘There are known carcinogens that present a potential risk to humans and other creatures in the environment.

‘There are various routes of entry for people playing on it. A lot of people walk away with quite a lot. So there’s skin contact. There is also inhalation and ingestion.

‘For children, risks of ingestion and inhalation may be significantly greater.’

The academic is a leading researcher into the risks associated with rubber crumb infill.

He recalled recently visiting a 3G pitch next to a local school and found ‘crumb rubber was going all over the public footpath and into the school playing ground’.

Defra’s 2025 report on microplastics, as well as Sport England, stress containment measures to prevent infill materials leaving sports surfaces.

These included perimeter boards, drainage filters, boot brushes and exit grids.

The Department for Education also funds grass pitches for school rebuilding projects, but does not typically fund artificial grass pitches.

A Government spokesperson said: ‘We are committed to protecting human health and the environment from the risks posed by microplastics and reform of chemicals regulations.

‘We are also working with the sports sector, including Sport England and the Football Foundation, on ways to reduce microplastic emissions in sports pitches.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

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