{"id":38804,"date":"2025-06-18T00:01:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-18T04:01:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=38804"},"modified":"2025-06-18T12:27:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-18T16:27:31","slug":"synthetic-turf-company-sues-to-silence-environ-and-health-groups-on-hazards-alternatives-pushback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2025\/06\/synthetic-turf-company-sues-to-silence-environ-and-health-groups-on-hazards-alternatives-pushback\/","title":{"rendered":"Synthetic Turf Company Sues to Silence Environ. and Health Groups on Hazards\/Alternatives; Pushback"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(<em>Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, June 18, 2025) <span data-contrast=\"none\">A major artificial turf manufacturer\u2019s effort to block a webinar about the hazards of synthetic turf has triggered a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against it. That suit, filed in Nassau County, New York, accuses the Polyloom Corporation of America of having engaged in an illegal <a href=\"https:\/\/peer.org\/artificial-turf-company-hit-with-big-slapp-suit\/\">Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP)<\/a> for trying to block the turf webinar by the non-profit Grassroots Environmental Education, featuring a presentation by a scientist from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The webinar, slated for January 23, 2025, entitled \u201cThe Trouble with Turf,\u201d was intended to discuss potential adverse health risks of artificial turf, including the fact that most<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">artificial grass blades contain toxic per- and\u00a0polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).\u00a0 The session and material did not mention Polyloom Corporation, which self-describes as \u201cone of the largest designers, producers, recyclers, manufacturers and installers of artificial turf in the United States.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Three days before the webinar, Polyloom filed both a complaint and an application for a Temporary Restraining Order, preliminary injunction, and monetary damages against Grassroots, the webinar sponsor, and all the individuals slated to speak in it who were sued in their individual capacities.\u00a0 Polyloom\u2019s action was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.\u00a0 On January 21<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">st<\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">, the\u00a0court ordered the two sides to \u201cmeet and confer\u201d before considering any motion to dismiss. As a result, Grassroots agreed to postpone its webinar indefinitely. The Tennessee court recently allowed Polyloom \u201climited discovery,\u201d which the court stated it did with \u201csome hesitance.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The new lawsuit, filed under the Civil Rights Law of New York by all the people and entities named in Polyloom\u2019s action, charges the corporation of having engaged in an illegal SLAPP suit \u201cfor the purpose of harassing, intimidating, punishing, or maliciously inhibiting the free exercise of speech, petition or association rights.\u201d\u00a0 The suit seeks $100,000<\/span> <span data-contrast=\"none\">in compensatory damages and $100 million in punitive damages, as well as all costs and attorneys\u2019 fees.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cCorporate bullies should not get away with using the legal system to quash the truth,\u201d stated PEER Science Policy Director Kyla Bennett, a scientist and attorney formerly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and PEER\u2019s leading spokesperson on artificial turf issues. Dr. Bennett was one of the scheduled speakers at the cancelled webinar. \u201cThe purpose of anti-SLAPP laws, such as New York\u2019s, is to prevent corporations from intimidating people speaking out on matters of public concern.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">The Grassroots webinar also featured Dr. Sarah Evans, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Environmental Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Jay Feldman, the Executive Director of Beyond Pesticides and an expert on alternatives to artificial turf, and Patricia Wood, Executive Director of Grassroots Environmental Education.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dr. Evans stated, \u201cAll communities\u202fdeserve access to unbiased, scientific information\u202fabout the potential risks from play\u202fon\u202fartificial turf. Silencing scientists hurts communities, preventing them from accessing the information that they need to\u202fmake evidence-based decisions to protect public health.\u201d\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;Our lawsuit is an important attempt to hold Polyloom accountable for false accusations on scientific questions of safety and the potential of synthetic turf to present a hazard to health and the environment,&#8221; Mr. Feldman stated. &#8220;Beyond Pesticides advances organic land management as an alternative to synthetic turf, and the discussion of this alternative should not be stifled by Polyloom or other corporations that have a vested economic interest in downplaying or misleading on the hazards associated with their products.&#8221;\n<p><\/span><\/li>\n<li>&#8220;Our mission is to educate the public and decision makers about how environmental\u202fexposures can\u202fimpact\u202fhuman health,\u202fespecially for children,&#8221; says Ms. Wood. &#8220;Peer-reviewed research indicates that there can be significant adverse health outcomes associated with artificial turf. Toxic chemicals in some infill and other components of the fields, extreme heat, increased risk of injuries, and a plastic playing surface that sheds microplastics are a particular\u202fconcern for children who are uniquely vulnerable due to immature physiological and behavioral\u202fdifferences.&#8221;<span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134245417&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>For more information, please contact Kyla Bennett, PhD, Director of Science Policy, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Director, PEER, at <a href=\"mailto:kbennett@peer.org\">kbennett@peer.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Featured in the New York Times article published on June 17, 2025, &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/17\/climate\/artificial-turf-grass-lawsuit-defamation-health-risk.html\">Is Fake Grass Safe? A Manufacturer Sues to Stop a Discussion.<\/a>&#8220;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><i><span data-contrast=\"none\">All unattributed positions and opinions in this piece are those of PEER and Beyond Pesticides [<a href=\"https:\/\/peer.org\/artificial-turf-company-hit-with-big-slapp-suit\/\">press release<\/a> from June 18, 2025].<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>***<br \/>\n<strong>&#x1f98b; <\/strong>National Pollinator Week for Wednesday! <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/programs\/bee-protective-pollinators-and-pesticides\/pollinator-week2025#:~:text=Wednesday%E2%80%94Identifying%20and%20Planting%20for%20Pollinators\"><b><i>Identifying and Planting for Pollinators<\/i><\/b><\/a>\u00a0<br \/>\n<span data-contrast=\"none\">With pollinators responsible for over 80% of the world\u2019s flowering plants, it\u2019s no wonder we are fighting to protect them. Pollinators are important members of various land ecosystems; therefore, how we manage these ecosystems and landscapes plays a critical role in long-term pollinator health. The expansion of urban, suburban, and agricultural areas reduces pollinator habitat and access to food, while intensive chemical use harms these beneficial organisms. Pesticide applications expose bees, birds, butterflies, and more to acute and sublethal levels of pesticides, which can result in reproductive abnormalities, impaired foraging, and even death.\u202f\u00a0<em>Please see our\u202f<\/em><\/span><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/programs\/bee-protective-pollinators-and-pesticides\/what-can-you-do\/know-your-pollinators\"><b>brief introduction to pollinators<\/b><\/a>\u202fhere!\u202f\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">As a symptomatic example of the ongoing insect apocalypse, populations of both\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/monarchwatch.org\/blog\/2024\/03\/29\/is-the-eastern-monarch-population-continuing-to-decline\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Eastern<\/span><\/b><\/a>\u00a0<span data-contrast=\"none\">and\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/monarchjointventure.org\/blog\/western-monarch-count-declines\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">Western<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0monarch butterflies have been decreasing in recent years, leading environmentalists to clamor for an\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2024\/12\/proposed-protections-for-monarch-butterflies-highlights-pesticide-threats-to-biodiversity-essential-to-life\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cendangered\u201d classification<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0for the species. Monarch butterflies serve as an indicator of the status of insect pollinators and their habitats, whose decline threatens worldwide ecology and agriculture, and exemplifies the failure of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), including the Office of Pesticide Programs, to regulate with a holistic lens that protects biodiversity. Although many factors are involved in the devastation of insect populations,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/programs\/bee-protective-pollinators-and-pesticides\/what-the-science-shows\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">scientific studies show<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0that pesticide use ranks high, led by the use of\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2024\/06\/seeds-coated-with-neonicotinoid-insecticides-again-identified-as-important-to-butterfly-decline\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. Other pesticide impacts include mortality from\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2020\/04\/monarch-butterfly-larvae-adversely-affected-by-pesticide-drift-from-contiguous-soybean-and-maize-crop-fields\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">insecticide drift<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0and the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2015\/02\/monsantos-roundup-eradicates-milkweed-major-food-source-for-monarch-butterflies\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">destruction of milkweed by herbicides<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. These impacts are exacerbated by\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2023\/09\/global-warming-threatens-bees-ability-to-withstand-chemical-exposure\/\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">climate change<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, which is made worse by the production and use of petrochemical pesticides and fertilizers.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">What can we do?<\/span><\/b><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u202fYou can play a role in protecting pollinators by\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/organicfood\/gardening\/index.php?pid=377\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">making an organic garden\u202f<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">with colorful, bee-attractive flowering plants,\u202f<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/secure.everyaction.com\/hu1ZJk3ld06Xx8kL8-iRKA2\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">pledging it as pollinator-friendly<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">, or even organizing your community, schools, or local government to make choices that foster pollinators.\u202fDon\u2019t have a garden? Windows and balconies are also great places to feature plants to encourage pollinators to stop by!\u202fBackyard trees, gardens, and beekeeping are great ways to support biodiversity and pollinators. Intentionally providing water, food, and forage to pollinators will encourage and boost pollinator populations in your community.\u202f<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{}\"> It helps to review \u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/lawn\/documents\/OrganicFallLawn101.pdf\"><b>Organic Lawn Care 101<\/b><\/a>\u202fbest practices and\u202f<a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/pesticidefreelawns\/resources\/Read%20Your%20Weeds-Organic%20Lawns.pdf\"><b>know your weeds<\/b><\/a>\u2014simple steps to convert your lawn to organic!\u202f\u00a0<i>Check out the<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/pollinators\/documents\/BEEProtectiveHabitatGuide.pdf\"><b><i>\u202fBEE Protective Habitat Guide<\/i><\/b><\/a><i>, the\u202f<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/assets\/media\/documents\/infoservices\/pesticidesandyou\/documents\/diy-biodiversity.pdf\"><b><i>Do-It-Yourself Biodiversity<\/i><\/b><\/a><i>\u202fresource, which offers hints about increasing biodiversity, and the \u202f<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/programs\/bee-protective-pollinators-and-pesticides\/what-can-you-do\/pollinator-friendly-seed-directory\"><b><i>Pollinator-Friendly Seed Directory<\/i><\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Because so many people have been involved in monitoring their populations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) has responded to the call to protect monarch butterflies by proposing to list them as a threatened species and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Join Beyond Pesticides and take action here! &#x1f4e3;<\/span>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/secure.everyaction.com\/VmVsZlcp5kO_U0RMJtx4dw2##anchor\"><b><span data-contrast=\"none\">TAKE ACTION: Tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to finalize its proposed listing of monarchs as threatened.<\/span><\/b><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;335559738&quot;:240,&quot;335559739&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Sources:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Tabuchi, H. and Belson, K. (2025) <i>Is fake grass safe? A manufacturer sues to stop a discussion. &#8211; The New York Times<\/i>. Available at: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/17\/climate\/artificial-turf-grass-lawsuit-defamation-health-risk.html\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/06\/17\/climate\/artificial-turf-grass-lawsuit-defamation-health-risk.html<\/a> (Accessed: 17 June 2025).<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>PEER press release\u2014\u2018Artificial Turf Company Hit with Big SLAPP Suit; Polyloom Defamation Suit Targeted Non-Profit Educational Turf Webinar\u2019 (2025). Washington, DC. (Accessed 17 June 2025).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Beyond Pesticides, June 18, 2025) A major artificial turf manufacturer\u2019s effort to block a webinar about the hazards of synthetic turf has triggered a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against it. That suit, filed in Nassau County, New York, accuses the Polyloom Corporation of America of having engaged in an illegal Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) for trying to block the turf webinar by the non-profit Grassroots Environmental Education, featuring a presentation by a scientist from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).\u00a0 The webinar, slated for January 23, 2025, entitled \u201cThe Trouble with Turf,\u201d was intended to discuss potential adverse health risks of artificial turf, including the fact that most artificial grass blades contain toxic per- and\u00a0polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).\u00a0 The session and material did not mention Polyloom Corporation, which self-describes as \u201cone of the largest designers, producers, recyclers, manufacturers and installers of artificial turf in the United States.\u201d\u00a0 Three days before the webinar, Polyloom filed both a complaint and an application for a Temporary Restraining Order, preliminary injunction, and monetary damages against Grassroots, the webinar sponsor, and all the individuals slated to speak in it who were sued in their individual capacities.\u00a0 Polyloom\u2019s action was filed in the U.S. District Court for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38806,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Synthetic Turf Company Sues to Silence Environ. and Health Groups on Hazards\/Alternatives; 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