- Nigel Maguire fears his son Lewis made cancer from synthetic pitches
- 18-year-old goalkeeper discovered to have actually Hodgkin’s Lymphoma two years ago
- His father, 52, believes toxic chemical in artificial surfaces sparked cancer
- The former NHS boss said: ‘The much more I look in to it, the much more horrified I am’
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A former NHS boss believes his teenage son’s cancer was caused by artificial football pitches.
Nigel Maguire fears his son Lewis, 18, made Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after playing on synthetic pitches and is now calling for a ban on the artificial surfaces as a result of the toxic chemicals they contain.
The 52-year-old, that took early retirement from his task as chief executive of NHS Cumbria to look after Lewis, said his son fell ill halfway through a 12-week trial along with Leeds United two years ago.
Former NHS boss Nigel Maguire, 52, from Cumbria, fears his son Lewis, 18 (pictured together), made Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after playing on artificial football pitches as a result of the toxic chemicals they contain
He warned that rubber pellets added to synthetic football pitches to offer them bounce are earned from old auto tyres and contain toxic chemicals including mercury, lead, benzene and arsenic.
He believes it is the create for ailment in players, particularly goalkeepers – adore his son – that come in to closer contact along with the plastic playing surface as soon as they dive for the ball.
Mr Maguire said: ‘Goalkeepers adore Lewis dive dozens of times in training so they breathe it in or swallow it and it gets in their grazes.
‘He used to come residence along with his kit covered in the stuff. We’d have actually to scrape it off.
‘The much more I look in to it, the much more horrified I am. Anybody that thinks swallowing half a teaspoon a week of that stuff is an excellent pointer is barking mad.’
Goalkeeper Lewis Maguire, 18 (pictured), fell ill throughout a 12-week trial along with Leeds United two years ago and was diagnosed along with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma
It is feared the pellets – known as crumb rubber – might be accidentally swallowed, or come to be lodged in arm or leg wounds, as soon as users strike the 3G turf.
Mr Maguire is now starting a campaign to increase national awareness of the issue.
He has actually called for a moratorium on building brand-new 3G pitches and prefers rugby and goalkeeping training on them to be banned until much more research is carried out.
‘If people knew where the black rubber pellets came from and were earned of they would certainly believe two times regarding letting their youngsters train there,’ he said.
‘It is obscene so little research has actually been done. This multibillion-dollar industry is conducting an industrial-scale experiment on our youngsters – it’s a scandal.’
Last month it was revealed that worried campaigners in the U.S. have actually linked synthetic pitch usage to much more compared to 150 cancer cases.
It prompted the wife of former Liverpool and Everton gamer Gary Ablett to voice concern over their use.
Following the revelations, Scottish League One group Stenhousemuir sought assistance from governing physique FIFA and the Sports and Play Construction Association.
But the two bodies defended synthetic pitches, insisting they are absolutely safe.
Sportscotland and FIFA said there was no evidence linking them to cancer and that enough research had been done to prove to the pitches were safe.
In America, producers have actually likewise denied synthetic pitches pose a healthiness risk.
But Mr Maguire insists further safety studies are needed.
‘Cigarette, asbestos and thalidomide manufacturers said there was no evidence of harm as well and look exactly how that turned out,’ he said.
Mr Maguire, that took early retirement from his role as chief executive of NHS Cumbria to look after Lewis, is now starting a campaign to increase national awareness of the potential dangers of artificial football pitches
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Mr Maguire, 52, warned that rubber pellets added to artificial football pitches to offer them bounce are earned from old auto tyres and contain toxic chemicals including mercury, lead, benzene and arsenic (file picture)
Lewis’s doctor, paediatric oncologist Professor Josef Vormor, likewise said Any sort of potential link between the illness and crumb rubber on pitches ought to be thoroughly researched.
Last week, Jacqueline Ablett, 43, whose defender husband Gary died in 2012, said: ‘There ought to surely be much more research in to these pitches.’
The FA is monitoring their use. ‘We are aware of the comes to and are monitoring industry research also as conducting our own,’ a spokesman said.
In Scotland a debate has actually likewise been raging over their suitability, amid claims soaring numbers of users are being injured while playing on the pitches.
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