RadiciGroup Voices Concern Over Reports of “Cancer

Bergamo, Italy, May 3, 2006--RadiciGroup announced that it wants to voice its concern about the news published recently by major Italian news agencies regarding the alarm raised over potentially cancerous substances present in the infill used to construct some synthetic grass football pitches. In a press release a firm spokesperson said, "RadiciGroup has been operating for several years in the artificial turf fields sector as the manufacturer of Radigreen synthetic grass yarn. Moreover, we have always been committed to disseminating knowledge and expertise among installers and users of synthetic grass fields, so as to put them in a position to make well-informed choices that will remain effective over the medium-long term. "Raising awareness and safeguarding the quality of our products are paramount, because this is the only way we can ensure the health and safety of the end-users. "RadiciGroup is firmly committed to be responsive to the requests for information, assurance and transparency from the users of artificial turf fields. "RadiciGroup wants to stress that the alarm raised over synthetic grass fields does not concern all football pitches in general, nor does it concern all rubber infill. As the lab analyses have already shown, the alarm concerns only the infill obtained from recycled tyre rubber. This type of infill (known in the sector as SBR, styrene-butadiene rubber) may, in fact, contain traces of PAH (polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon), which is used in the production of tyres. "RadiciGroup welcomes the analyses being carried out by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS--scientific body of the Italian National Health Service) on request of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (National Amateur League), because the results will help to clarify the matter at hand. This is also very positive news in that it puts Italy at the forefront in raising, in a factual manner, the problem of potential toxicity to the environment and human health of some substances contained in the infill used for artificial turf fields. "Like all the other players in this sector, RadiciGroup is now awaiting the final results of the analyses in progress at the ISS concerning the toxicity to the environment and human health of some substances contained in SBR infill. "These results, in fact, will give greater assurance to producers and users alike. "

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