• Sports
• Medicine
• Public health

The European Union (EU) in 2023 decided to ban microplastic use including crumb rubber infills in 3G sports pitches by 2031 for a variety of interlocking environmental, health and sustainability reasons.1 These infills contain various chemicals often from end-of-life rubber tyres.2 3 Great Britain (GB; England, Scotland, Wales) has thousands of 3G pitches. A full-sized 3G pitch required between 100 and 120 tonnes of infill to build and 1–5 tonnes of infill top-ups each year.4 Infills are sometimes used on children’s playgrounds. In these settings, artificial grass made from various plastics may be used as a surface substitute for natural grass lawns on top of infills. Hazardous chemicals including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, ‘forever chemicals’ or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, plasticisers, vulcanisers have all been found in crumb rubber and artificial turf.2 3 Children may be especially vulnerable to infill, artificial grass surfaces and potential chemical exposures because of time spent on the surfaces and physiological factors.5 6 Indeed, reports have surfaced alleging a link between the presence of carcinogenic substances in crumb rubber made from old car tyres and leukaemia and lymphoma in young football players and goalkeepers.7 However, determining the exact level of risk is problematic with multiple exposure sources. This commentary advocates for a precautionary approach to these surfaces.