The Edgartown board of health this week voiced its support for a moratorium on artificial turf fields that is currently under consideration in neighboring Oak Bluffs.
In a special meeting Monday, the Edgartown board of health unanimously approved sending a letter in favor of the moratorium that is set to be discussed by the Oak Bluffs board of health Tuesday.
The proposed moratorium springs from concerns over per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS, and comes after the regional high school committee last week won a drawn-out battle in court over plans to install a new turf field.
The Oak Bluffs planning board in 2022 denied the high school’s application for a new field at the Oak Bluffs campus, citing concerns over what PFAS in a turf field could do to the Island’s freshwater aquifer. A state Land Court judge overturned the ruling Wednesday, saying the water concerns didn’t fall under the board’s authority.
The Oak Bluffs board of health had previously been considering a moratorium on the installation of turf fields in town and its counterpart in Edgartown believed it was a good idea.
“The Oak Bluffs moratorium is a sensible way to provide additional time for studies, regulations, and knowledge of PFAS and its possible health impacts to be evaluated,” the board wrote in its letter Monday.
Moratoriums in Massachusetts are often used by officials to help them get a better handle on fast approaching issues. The toxic chemicals potentially in the field have been bitterly debated in the past and a moratorium could continue to stall the high school’s hopes of overhauling its athletic facility.
When the high school turf project went before the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, an independent consultant found the chemicals used to make the synthetic turf contained small amounts of PFAS.
“In summary, this is what we found, low level concentrations . . . of . . . semi volatiles, metals and PFAS in the various synthetic turf components,” Ron Myrick with consultant Tetra Tech told the commission in 2021. “However, these materials are present in concentrations that are consistent with background concentrations in natural soil or concentrations well below the risk based standards.”
PFAS can be found in a broad variety of items, including non-stick cookware, firefighting foams and waterproof clothing. Officials are continuing to study the emerging contaminants, but current research indicates that PFAS may lead to an increased risk of cancer, increased cholesterol levels and a weakened immune system.
The Oak Bluffs board of health is scheduled to consider the moratorium at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The meeting will be held over Zoom.
