Concerns about rubber granulate are mainly about the carcinogenic properties of some substances in rubber granulate. In particular, the concern is about a possible relationship with leukaemia and lymphoma.
The risks of exposure to carcinogenic substances are expressed in the additional number of people who get cancer per million exposed; the term ‘additional’ is used because people who are not exposed to these substances are also at risk of developing cancer. An additional risk of 1 in a million people exposed to carcinogens is considered negligible (negligible risk).
Research shows that the additional cancer risk for PAHs is 2.1 to 2.9 per one million exposed individuals for someone who has been a goal keeper from ages 7 to 50. This additional cancer risk is virtually negligible. It is much smaller than the so-called maximum tolerable risk (MTR) and slightly above the negligible risk. For the remaining substances -- BPA, phthalates, the metals cadmium and cobalt and the benzothiazoles (including 2-MBT) -- the exposure is substantialy lower than the exposure regarded as safe, and there is no health risk.