Written by EA Crunden, Ariel Wittenberg | 12/17/2021 01:18 PM US Eastern Time

Student athletes are practicing football on artificial turf. AP Photo/Alberman

A toxicologist associated with the EPA once pushed for the installation of artificial turf farms in New England towns. She no longer works for a municipal client because her comments on the so-called permanent chemicals caused an uproar.

According to principal Elizabeth Hallett, Nantucket Public Schools has stopped cooperating with industry consultant Laura Green, who declined to comment further on the matter.

The termination came more than a week after Green’s statement on perfluoro and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS or perfluoro and polyfluoroalkyl substances) related to health issues and certain cancers was first reported by E&E News. These chemicals are the EPA's top priority, but Green downplays their health effects, including claiming that they do not pose a risk to humans, while emphasizing her own work as a special government employee of the agency (Greenwire, December 8) .

Green’s collaboration with Nantucket Public Schools ended after a series of rapid events last week. Green initially resigned from her position at the EPA, but later retreated, stating that she changed her mind after agency officials called her to reconsider (E&E News afternoon, December 10). The EPA still has not clarified Green’s role in the agency or why officials tried to keep her in office temporarily. The agency did not respond to a request for further comment today.

Hallett sent an email to the school committee on Sunday, which was reviewed by E&E News, which previewed the campus master planning committee’s decision to terminate Green’s contract due to "discussions surrounding Dr. Laura Green."

But Green’s termination does not indicate that the committee is giving up support for the lawns on the island.

"Although Laura is still one of the top experts in the country, we believe that the highly emotional atmosphere surrounding her connection with [Nantuckett Public Schools] is not the best for the school district," read by Ha E-mail signed by Lit.

On the same day the committee terminated Green’s contract, it also wrote a letter to the editors of Nantucket Current, reiterating the demand for the synthetic turf field and responding to concerns that PFAS may seep into groundwater and drinking water from the field.

The letter said: "Although we understand some of their concerns, the materials we propose to use have been laboratory tested and have proven that there is no significant risk from PFAS." "Please note that we will never cause student athletes, coaching staff and The health and safety of the entire community has been compromised."

Tim Lepore, chairman of the Nantucket School Committee, did not participate in the decision to terminate Green’s contract, but expressed his support.

"I think trying to make people understand some of the chemical reactions behind these things, you really can't treat your audience as idiots," he said. "She shut out many people."

Lepore is not sure whether lawn is a good idea, he is a surgeon at Nantucket Cottage Hospital. He said that Green claimed that the PFAS used for plastic grass blades is the same as the PFAS used for surgical sutures, so it is very safe, which he doubts.

"This is a strange comparison," he said, noting that the condition of surgical sutures in the body is different from that of outdoor playgrounds. "Hope my sutures will not be in the sun or rain unless someone is ripped apart."

The decision to terminate Green’s contract came months after Nantucket Public School officials worked closely with toxicologists to determine how to respond to public concerns about PFAS.

The email between Green and Nantucket Public School Facilities and Site Director Diane O'Neill was obtained by the locals in accordance with the requirements of public records and shared with E&E News, showing how close the two women are working together.

"I'm very happy to work with you on this project," Green wrote O'Neill at the end of September.

O'Neill replied: "I look forward to your expertise and knowledge to help us solve this PFAS problem."

On multiple occasions, O'Neill and project architect Richard Webb sought Green’s help to respond to inquiries about PFAS from citizens and other parties.

In November, Green sent an email to an architect in the field to help him rewrite the "project description." It will include information about the types of PFAS used on artificial grass blades, and that PFAS "is insoluble in rainwater; it will not pollute groundwater, surface water or ambient air; it will not penetrate skin or clothing."

O'Neill agreed and wrote in the same email chain: "We really need to explain this in a layman manner, and we really need to promote the security of materials."

Also in November, O'Neill complained to Green about receiving an email from Jaime Honkawa, the co-founder of the Nantucket PFAS Action Group in Los Angeles. O'Neill complained that even though Honkawa is not a resident of the island, he still inquires about the fields.

"This has become a witch hunt," she said, adding that she "never" didn't want to respond to Honkawa.

"They just want to attack us and ask for more and more information to discredit us. I have completed the defense," she wrote. "I think our team needs to be offensive for a while."

Another example concerns the Nantucket Land Commission, which plays a key role in advocating for environmental issues on the island. Executive Director Emily Molden requested that the team be allowed to test soil samples on the current grass playground in order to compare existing conditions with synthetic turf. These samples will be deeper than the topsoil samples and allow more information about the contaminants to be obtained.

O'Neill expressed concern and wrote to Green and Weber. She was disturbed by this request. "Maybe I was too cautious on this point," she said. Green responded that no additional testing was necessary and advocated not to probe deeper in the soil.

Green, O'Neal and Weber did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the transaction or Green’s termination.

Nantucket is not the only town to make major decisions around the proposed turf area.

A similar struggle took place in Oak Bluffs on Martha's Vineyard.

There, the Health Commission is now weighing whether it is possible to ban lawns containing PFAS and discussed this possibility at a meeting on Tuesday, where several scientists gave speeches and expressed concerns about the health risks associated with PFAS .

Green did not speak or appeared to be present at the meeting, but a participant who turned off the camera had the same name as the toxicologist's husband.

After supporters in the artificial turf field argued that they wanted more time to prove their situation in the new year, the conversation was inconclusive. The committee members agreed to hold a subsequent meeting in January and also testified specifically on the proposed areas. It is not clear when a vote on the ban may be held.