Does artificial turf contain PFAS?

Yes, testing has found PFAS in turf

PFAS are a large family of man-made chemicals. The EPA counts thousands of them, notes that they break down very slowly, and says exposure to some of them may be linked to harmful health effects in people and animals.

Some have turned up in artificial turf. New Jersey’s environment department pulled the research together in a 2025 report. PFAS have been detected in turf fibers, infill and backing. But experiments show limited evidence that they get out into the ground or water around a field.

The report leans on a Swedish study that tested infill, blades and backing from 18 fields for 23 known PFAS:

• Backing: PFAS found at 12 of the 18 fields, up to 0.78 parts per billion.
• Infill: found at 3 fields, up to 0.173 parts per billion.
• Blades: found at none.

Those totals stayed under New Jersey’s interim soil standards for PFOA, PFOS, PFNA and GenX. The report adds one detail worth knowing: newer fields tend to have higher PFAS levels than older ones.

Most of it seems to stay inside the plastic

A narrow test only finds the chemicals it looks for. So researchers also measure total fluorine, a broader sign that PFAS may be present. New Jersey’s 2023 memo walks through what the same Stockholm team found that way in 51 samples:

• Total fluorine turned up in every sample: 16 to 313 ppm in backing, 12 to 310 in infill and 24 to 661 in blades.
• Extractable PFAS turned up in 42% of samples, at levels more than ten times lower.
• Soaking samples in plain water released nothing the lab could detect.

The memo’s reading: if those samples are like the turf sold in the U.S., low levels of PFAS may be released, and most of what is there sits within the structure of the material. It also warns that no lab method can yet find every PFAS, which limits how firmly anyone can say release is not a problem. Connecticut’s health department calls it an evolving field of research.

How PFAS get into turf in the first place

Mostly through the factory. Turf blades are plastic pushed through an extruder, a machine that melts the polymer and forms it into blades. The 2023 memo says PFAS have been widely used to help mold and extrude plastic, and that the fluoropolymers added as processing aids can leave a low-level residue on the finished product.

The Toxics Use Reduction Institute at UMass Lowell explains the reason one researcher gave. Older blades were made from low-density polyethylene and did not last. Newer, tougher polymer blends would not run through existing extruders, so PFAS were added to keep the plastic from sticking to the machine.

Recycled material is the other route. The memo notes that recycled content could carry older, long-chain PFAS into new turf.

None of this shows on a sample in your hand. Only the manufacturer knows what went into the product.

Why “PFAS-free” is hard to prove

TURI puts the problem in one line: not finding one or more specific PFAS does not mean a material is free of PFAS. A total fluorine test or a TOP assay, which breaks precursor chemicals down into forms a lab can measure, gives a fuller picture. TURI also warns that some tests only look for the older long-chain chemicals, which are not the most likely ones to show up in a new product.

Water utilities have noticed the gap. Thornton’s rebate rules for artificial turf ask for PFAS-free documentation from a third party or the manufacturer, and say a “PFC-free” claim is not enough. Our Denver-metro rebate guide covers the rest of those rules.

What the rules say where you live

Two of our three markets now have written rules on PFAS in turf.

• Colorado. SB24-081, signed 1 May 2024, bars anyone from installing artificial turf that contains intentionally added PFAS on any property in the state from 1 January 2026. That covers every yard, not just commercial sites.
• Florida. Rule 62-308.100, in force since 19 May 2026, prohibits heavy metals and intentionally added PFAS in turf on single-family lots of an acre or less. The state does not inspect installs, but a lawn has to meet the standard to get the state’s protection from local bans. Our Florida infill guide explains how that works.

Both rules turn on the words “intentionally added”. That puts the weight on what the manufacturer can document about how the product was made.

What it means for your yard

The research does not show that playing on turf harms your health, and it does not rule it out. New Jersey’s 2025 report says there is not enough evidence on how much PFAS the body takes up from turf, or how toxic it is, to conclude either way. It is a question about materials, so the useful step is choosing the product with the paperwork in hand.

What to ask before you buy

1. Get the manufacturer’s written PFAS statement for the exact product, backing included, not the brand in general.
2. Ask what testing backs it. A total fluorine or TOP result says more than a test for a few named PFAS.
3. Read the wording. “PFAS-free” and “no intentionally added PFAS” are claims you can check against a document. “PFC-free” is not enough for Thornton.
4. Check your state’s line. In Colorado, turf installed since 1 January 2026 cannot contain intentionally added PFAS. In Florida, a single-family lawn has to meet the same test to meet the state standard.
5. Keep the paperwork with the rest of your house records.

Ask for that documentation with every quote you get, ours included. On the free visit we measure the space and check the ground, and it is a good time to go through the product options side by side.