Forum Topic

Toxic emissions from tyres

Prioritise tackling toxic emissions from tyres, urge Imperial expertshttps://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/243333/prioritise-tackling-toxic-emissions-from-tyres/#

Bernard Allen ● 1209d7 Comments

At first the anti-car cult complained about the emissions from the exhaust - and they were right to do so.But EVs have no exhaust they do not have emissions so the anti-car cult had to find a new "danger" to complain about and they latched on to brake dust emitted by EVs- only problem is that EVs emit very little brake dust, EV brake pads, due to regen braking, last 5-10 times longer than non-EV brake padsSo now the anti-car cult have latched onto tyre particulates as the new reason to ban all cars including EVs.  Only one problem with that, according to Quickfit (who know a lot about how long a tyre will last) EV tyres due to a different construction last c.30% longer than other tyres and so emit less tyre particulates.Also there are projects already being developed to capture a substantial proportion of tyre particulates - admittedly at this stage only in prototype but with the right backing they will become common place

Justin Stephenson ● 1209d

I did suggest something to capture tyre particlulates early on and apparently one supplier had developed something like that.

Janice Evans ● 1207d

Who amongst the "anti-car cult" wants to "ban all cars" [sic]?There may be one or two individuals out there who might like to do so (not that they'll ever succeed, mind you).But in their own way, they are no more deluded than those individual pro-car cultists who seem to believe they're fighting a battle against a total ban on all cars.That simply isn't on the agenda of anyone serious.

Richard Cathcart ● 1207d

Strange answer. If particulates are so dangerous then surely all vehicles with tyres should be banned on public health grounds. Or are buses, lorries and vans somehow exempt? Why, even those pesky bicycles have tyres and must be producing particulates.Clearly there are a few people with too much time on their hands thinking up new ways of irritating the bulk of the population.But as you say it’s not on the agenda of ‘anyone serious’.

Simon Hayes ● 1207d

I thought the real problem was wood burning stoves. Maybe we should burn tyres and have wooden wheels on cars?! I

Peter Evans ● 1207d

There has been concern about micro plastic pollution from tyres for sometime. It’s been discussed on this forum before. You don’t need to be ‘anti-car’ to be concerned. Not only are we releasing these micro plastics into our oceans we are breathing them in without knowing the long term impact.https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/study-up-to-one-third-of-all-microplastics-released-into-uk-waters-come-from-tyre-wear-particles/A group of imperial college graduates have been developing a device to capture some of this tyre pollution and turn it into other products https://www.thetyrecollective.com/

David Turner ● 1204d

We have all seen potholes.  Where does the asphalt go that used to be in the hole?  Presumably into the air for us to breathe in.  Pre asphalt roads I imagine humans had to breathe in a lot of mud, dust from the roads, not to mention horse manure.

Vivienne Cox ● 1203d