Still, the county is awaiting the test results for the 11 fields to be made of another material the county plans to install during the next four years at other schools.

"We just want the peace of mind," said Fred Schram, department head of Central Services for Anne Arundel County.

After reports surfaced about a federal investigation into the lead content of artificial turf, county officials wanted to know whether the artificial turf at Broadneck High, and the turf that will be installed in 11 county high schools, contains dangerous levels of lead.

"Obviously, when we read that report we were very, very concerned," said Fred Schram, department head of central services for Anne Arundel County. "However, after a review of the materials we're using ... we feel very comfortable that there are no problems with it."

This week, the county sent out samples for testing by an industrial chemist who the county keeps on retainer, Mr. Schram said. The test results on the remaining fields are expected to come back next week.

Bob Mosier, a county schools spokesman, said the tests on the Broadneck field came back last night, showing the field's lead levels are far below federal standards, and that the school system will not need to take action, he said.

That turf is made by FieldTurf, Inc., said Ken Kazmarek, athletic director at Broadneck High.

That same turf is at St. Mary's field in Annapolis, said Christine Bervid, a spokesman for the parish. They received word from the manufacturer that it is safe, she said.

The turf that will be used at the other 11 schools is called TigerTurf.

Mr. Schram's office already requested information sheets about TigerTurf, which show the turf contains metals - copper and iron - but no lead.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission began investigating whether there are dangerous levels of lead in artificial turfs this month after the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services found that two of 12 fields it tested had eight to 10 times the lead allowed under state soil standards, according to the department's Web site.

One field was at a park in Hoboken, which has AstroTurf; and the other was a stadium field at The College of New Jersey in Ewing, which has AstroPlay 2000 turf, said Donna Leusner, a spokesman for New Jersey's health department. New Jersey found similarly high levels of lead in two samples of AstroLawn, a turf marketed for residential use, she said.

All three of those products are made by the parent company AstroTurf, LLC, according to the company's Web site.

"We do not know the health impact - if any - that may result in people who used these fields," Dr. Eddy Bresnitz, New Jersey's deputy health commissioner and state epidemiologist, said in a news release. "One concern is that, for children who live in homes with lead-based paint or who have had other lead exposures, any lead from turf would just add to the lead levels in their bodies."

Because the national investigation is just beginning, it's too early for the commission to say whether turf fields have dangerous levels of lead, said Scott Wilson, a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman.

"It's very early in our investigation," Mr. Wilson said. "It's premature to state one way or another whether this is a danger, but it involves children, so that makes it an important issue for CPSC."

Broadneck High has the only artificial turf field in the county school system, but more fields are coming.

The county plans to install artificial turf in the other 11 high schools over the next few years, beginning with North County, Arundel and Annapolis high schools this summer.

Bids for the first year of the project have come in at about $2.8 million. Installing all 11 fields is expected to take about four years.

The county is contracting the project with Sunny Acres Landscaping in Davidsonville, which will install the TigerTurf brand turf, Mr. Schram said.

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