Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show

[sl8]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jun/03/car-tyres-produce-more-particle-pollution-than-exhausts-tests-show

Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts, tests show

Toxic particles from tyre wear almost 2,000 times worse than from exhausts as weight of cars increases

Damian Carrington, Environment editor
@dpcarrington
Fri 3 Jun 2022 07.06 EDT

Almost 2,000 times more particle pollution is produced by tyre wear than is pumped out of the exhausts of modern cars, tests have shown.

The tyre particles pollute air, water and soil and contain a wide range of toxic organic compounds, including known carcinogens, the analysts say, suggesting tyre pollution could rapidly become a major issue for regulators.

Air pollution causes millions of early deaths a year globally. The requirement for better filters has meant particle emissions from tailpipes in developed countries are now much lower in new cars, with those in Europe far below the legal limit. However, the increasing weight of cars means more particles are being thrown off by tyres as they wear on the road.

The tests also revealed that tyres produce more than 1tn ultrafine particles for each kilometre driven, meaning particles smaller than 23 nanometres. These are also emitted from exhausts and are of special concern to health, as their size means they can enter organs via the bloodstream. Particles below 23nm are hard to measure and are not currently regulated in either the EU or US.

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[LastDemocratInSC]

1. ... tyres produce more than 1tn ultrafine particles for each kilometre driven...

1 tn is standard nomenclature for 1 short ton. So, tires produce that quantity of pollution per km? How many cars / tires are required to create that pollution over time?

[sl8]

2. "tn" is also an abbreviation for "trillion". n/t

[LastDemocratInSC]

4. Thank you!

It's 9:15 pm here and I had not learned even one new thing all day. But you stepped to remedy that!

[jmowreader]

3. And...

…an electric car is much heavier than a similar style and size gas car.

[hunter]

6. If you take the batteries required for one 400 mile range electric car...

... and put them in ten plug-in hybrids it would lead to a greater overall reduction in automobile carbon emissions.

If my wife and I drove plug-in hybrids with a forty mile range we'd only buy gasoline once or twice a year.

What we really need to do as a society, however, is to create attractive affordable cities where car ownership is unnecessary.

The cars that are necessary could be plug-in hybrids that use synthetic carbon neutral fuels. No range anxiety there, even if personal cars were limited to 15 kilowatt fuel engines. There's only a few highway grades in the U.S.A. where that would be an inconvenience.

Personally I've got no influence on the automobile market. I bought a new car once in the 'eighties and it's very unlikely I'll ever do that again. I currently drive a 25 year old truck. I'm a fairly good mechanic and I don't feel uncomfortable driving cars with salvage titles. I do feel a little uncomfortable about the gasoline I buy, filling up my tank every other month or so whether I need to or not.

[hunter]

5. If car tire dust was radioactive would we ban cars?

There are all sorts of carcinogens, mutagens, and teratogens associated with automobile use.

Tire and brake dust doesn't just disappear.