In today’s April issue, an infographic appeared detailing the components of artificial turf pellets. At the bottom of the infographic, which is on the lower-right corner of page B11, a molecular diagram of a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, an organic compound found in oil and tar deposits was featured.

The caption for this diagram reads: “Turf is constructed from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. This compound has been linked to cancer in some soccer and football players.”

The above statement is not wholly true. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are present in turf, as well as plastics, resins, and other related products. There is, however, insufficient scientific research to prove that artificial turf can cause cancer.

The caption and accompanying diagram was included with the infographic due to an increase of journalistic coverage of the topic, notably by NBC in October of 2014 and recently in the Huffington Post. The stories describe cases in which clusters of athletes who have come in contact with artificial turf have developed cancer. There is however, no direct link between cancer and artificial turf.

The paragraph should have read: “Turf is constructed from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. The compounds in turf are currently being studied due to speculation that they might be carcinogenic, but no official study has proven this. The Little Hawk will investigate this topic in greater, depth in the May issue.”

The intention of this diagram was not to scare anyone, nor to suggest that the City High field is unsafe for athletes. The remaining 75% of the infographic is completely fine. The inclusion of the molecular diagram and its accompanying caption was meant only to bring attention to the media coverage of the topic.

As sports editor, I assume full blame for the paragraph. It was an unfortunate oversight on my part, and the part of my advisor. The author of the turf infographic, Cora Bern-Klug, is not at fault. She was presented with the idea late in the development of the issue and was rushed to complete it. The infographic is informative and factual, aside from the misleading last paragraph. We had originally intended to write about the topic in greater detail, but time got away from us, and we decided upon a short infographic instead. I recognized that stating anything close to “turf can cause cancer” without proper basis could result horribly, as it has, but I neglected to fully check the final product, again, an oversight on my part.

Had more basis been given for the information, the current situation might have been avoided. The Little Hawk will investigate the topic in much more detail in our May issue, with the hope to alleviate current tension.

Please forgive the oversight. It was one of the worst in recent history, and I’m doing everything in my power to ensure it doesn’t happen again through better quality control and far more intensive review of the issue before it goes to print.

The correction will appear again on B1 of May’s Issue.

My sincerest apologies to the readers, and to anyone in the City High athletic community, especially to athletes and their parents.

Dominic Balestrieri-Fox, Executive Editor

(Sports Editor during the April issue)

I can be reached at [email protected]