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4. Grass Field Hazards
“Everyone loves a lush green soccer pitch but at what cost?”
Field Checks
One of the biggest hazards in outside field sports, yet often the most overlooked, is the field itself.
One quarter of soccer injuries result from poor field conditions.
Take responsibility for checking the field even though the referee is the one who should do so before each and every game. Unfortunately, as can happen in minor and senior soccer, the referee barely arrives at the field in time for the game and only manages a quick check of the field for safety.
Coaches are too busy. The coaches are so busy getting their team ready to play and giving last minute instructions that they also don't have time to check the field for holes, puddles, broken glass, stones, or other debris. Most coaches are happy to leave this task to the referee, so they don't bother to check the field themselves.
We live in a beautiful city yet some of the items I have seen removed from soccer fields over the years are truly frightening. One year, while coaching, I was stuck with what turned out to be a blood testing needle. Six months and two HIV tests later I learned the value of performing a general field check before playing.
Bacteria and Microorganisms
The following bacteria were found in field samples taken from local Victoria soccer pitches:
Grass Fields
Contaminant |
Levels Detected |
Comments |
| Staphylococcus Aureus |
Field 1
• None detected |
n/a |
Staph A. is the most common cause of skin infections. These bacteria can cause a range of illnesses from mild skin irritation to abcesses, pneumonia, meningitis and even toxic shock. Staph A is also one of the more resistant bugs to treatment by antibiotics. |
Field 2
• 23,520 |
A single field sample but over 470 times the suggested maximum exposure. |
| Pseudomonas Aeruginosa |
Field 1
• None detected |
68 times the suggested maximum |
P aeruginosa typically infects the repiratory tract, urinary tract and wounds that break the skin. Can lead to blood infections. P aeruginosa is naturally resistant to many antibiotics. |
Field 2
• 94,080 |
9,408 times the maximum! |
Enterococci
(fecal Strep) |
Field 1
• 3420 to 14,994 |
684 times the suggested maximum exposure |
Enterococci each year account for over 40,000 wound infections. They are also among the most antibiotic resistant of all bacteria with some strains resistant to all known antibiotics. |
Field 2
• 14,994 |
That’s almost 3,000 times the suggested maximum exposure. |
| Fecal Coliform |
Field 1
• 411 colony forming units/gram |
20.5 times the suggested maximum exposure. |
• Fecal coliform are passed through human and animal excrement.
• Treated sewage levels must not exceed 200 colonies per 100ml of water. |
Field 2
• 734 colony forming units/gram. |
36.7 times the suggested maximum exposure. |
Fertilizers
Many grass fertilizers contain nitrogen to help the root strength of the grass and to give it a greener color. These compounds can be deadly to pets and are also potentially dangerous for soccer players as well.
Some grass fertilizers also contain toxic heavy metals.
In 2005, Dr. Richard Ash, M.D., pleaded for an end to the needless exposure of athletes to sport field toxins. He cited numerous potentially serious health problems including “skin and eye irritations, digestive problems, asthma attacks, rashes and other allergic reactions, as well as the unknown.”
We wanted to have the grass field samples tested for fertilizers as well as microorganisms but our budget would not allow for this testing. Everyone loves a lush green soccer pitch but it may come at a cost to the health of the players.
Lime
Burns experts are calling for a ban on lime-based markings on sports pitches. The move follows an incident during a soccer game in Wales in which a goalkeeper was seriously burnt by the corrosive alkali as he made a goal-line save—and fell directly onto fresh lime markings.
Although hydrated lime—calcium hydroxide—is only used rarely, owing to its known dangers, it is still used on some pitches, says Derek Walder, a consultant to Britain’s Institute of roundsmanship. “There are probably a lot of amateur clubs that still do it,” he says.
A team led by Viswanathan Narayanan at the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery at the Morriston Hospital in Swansea report in a recent edition of the journal Burns that the goalkeeper’s lime burns covered 5 per cent of his body. He needed surgery to excise dead skin and to apply skin grafts.
Pesticides
Pesticides are used for insect control on many grass fields. Pesticides and other harmful and non-organic growing agents affect our children and pets.
To reduce pesticide exposure to children, more than 30 states have moved to curb pesticide use at schools. Many of these schools follow a set of guidelines known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which calls for monitoring pest problems, addressing the cause, using non-chemical suppression techniques, and, if other methods fail, using the least-toxic type of pesticide.
One organization called the Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides, http://www.pesticide.org/pfpreport.pdf offers a report that summarizes the hazards of pesticides and offers simple advice for communities to keep parks safer.
We are looking forward to an individual or group to do more research in this area. We can test local fields in various locations or else we could look at various types of fertilizers in known use on the soccer fields and then analyze those for toxicity.
Light Standards
Interestingly, while the lighting is being provided to allow players to play and enjoy the game, this becomes a secondary concern to the safety aspects of providing appropriate lighting for the participants to safely run on a typically uneven surface and avoid collisions with fast moving people, the ball, or any objects such as goal posts, and training aids. Also if the standards are located too close to the playing surface, this creates a major hazard to the players and fans alike. Often players are running at full throttle near the sideline and one well placed nudge can send them flying into objects and or people placed near the sidelines. Last season, two players were tackled directly into light standards at one of our local soccer pitches. These standards are less than two feet from the field sideline. We approached the club but no action was taken.
I have also found that sports bags are a major hazard. Players often leave them close to the field so they can easily reach their water bottle. This can result in players tripping over them as they are tackled on the sidelines.
Soccer Goal Anchors
Soccer goal anchors should always be used to prevent movable goals from tipping. Most of these anchors, however, are essentially long spikes that can come dislodged or remain forgotten in the grass for a player or lawnmower to come across. Players sliding into metal goal anchors can receive serious cuts. An industrial lawnmower can send a metal anchor flying. One park supervisor noted that the mower severed one of these spikes, causing the jagged metal piece to fly through the air: “Fortunately this piece of metal did not strike or impale anyone. The mower operator combed the area to find this piece along with retrieving the piece still in the mower. Both the detached piece and large piece were torn and each had a very sharp portion which if stepped or fallen upon would have injured someone.”
More on soccer goal anchors and soccer goal safety is found in Chapter 9, Soccer Goal Safety.
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