Daily Mail

Crackdown on ‘cancer risk’ soccer pitches

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THE rubber used in 3G artificial football pitches is facing a Europe-wide ban because of cancer fears.

Its black granules give a more realistic bounce but are made of old car tyres and contain toxic chemicals including mercury, lead, benzene and arsenic.

Potential risks were first highlighte­d in the UK by former NHS boss Nigel Maguire, whose goalkeeper son Lewis, 19, developed Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

He became ill halfway through a 12-week trial with Leeds United three years ago.

Dutch experts are now urging the European Chemicals Agency to consider outlawing the rubber from next April.

Mr Maguire, 53, former chief executive of NHS Cumbria said: ‘It is obscene so little research has been done. This multibilli­ondollar industry is conducting an industrial- scale experiment on our kids, it’s a scandal.’

A rubber industry spokesman said it is developing an industry standard that goes above and beyond current regulation.

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