Top Local Stories: No. 4, Sonoma County schools' artificial fields

4. New synthetic turf sports fields sparked a variety of changes in local athletics this year.

Over the past decade, Sonoma County school and community grass fields have been replaced with more versatile, less thirsty, all-weather artificial turf surfaces.

They require less maintenance than grass fields, have more consistent surfaces and can be played on all year long.

In 2015, Casa Grande, Analy and El Molino all got new fields, mainly for football and soccer use. During the fall football season, all three schools were forced to play on the road or at neutral sites.

Though the first wave of rubber-topped fields went in without controversy – indeed, were actively sought by parents, coaches and schools – more recently, concerns have arisen about the safety of recycled tires on fields used by thousands of youths each year.

First in the West County and then in Petaluma, a small group of vocal parents concerned about the recycled crumb rubber used as cushion in synthetic fields forced school board members to re-examine their choice of fields.

All three schools, and likely Petaluma High when it gets its field replaced soon, will play on turf topped with ground-up cork instead of rubber pellets.

Critics of the rubber filling claim that it contains various carcinogenic chemicals and can be hazardous after contact with athletes’ skin, or if potential minute particles are inhaled.

Although none of a host of studies has proved health hazards, concerns remain about the studies’ accuracy and thoroughness.

Late this year, the state’s Environmental Health Hazard Assessment announced it would conduct an in-depth study into crumb-rubber safety, with help from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal organizations.