Unfortunately, there is little research on the health effects of tire particles. one of the few comprehensive studies it was completed more than a decade ago, in 2012. “At that time, it wasn’t decided that it was the priority issue,” says Gary Guthrie, senior vice president at Michelin. “The priority issue was to better understand the fate of particles in water and how they degrade.”
“Studies sponsored by the Tire Industry Project (TIP) of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBSCD) have indicated that tire and road wear particles (TRWP) do not pose any risk to human health,” it states. Wanka. “Inhalation studies suggest that TRWP is unlikely to pose a risk to humans through airborne exposure.”
“Tire pollution and NOx emissions are different,” says Erlendson. “NOx is a gaseous byproduct of fuel combustion, while tire particles are a solid pollutant, similar to dust from wood stoves. However, unlike NOx or CO2 from tailpipes, there are currently no global regulations in place that specifically limit tire pollution.”
Are biodegradable tires the answer?
Biodegradable tires seem like a possible solution to tire pollution. However, there are some paradoxes with this idea. “Tires are important for safety,” says Wanka. “They are the only contact between a vehicle and the road. Therefore, it is essential that tire degradation does not occur until the end of the use phase.” For many tires, the lifespan could be five years or more.
“While the tire industry is increasingly exploring bio-based materials such as natural rubber, the tires themselves and the pollution they generate are not yet biodegradable,” Erlendson says. “A tire that biodegrades in the vehicle would not be good in terms of durability. “However, it would be beneficial if tire particles shed during driving could biodegrade in the environment, preventing them from accumulating in the air, land and oceans.”
“Right now we’re focusing on the front end and not the back end,” Guthrie says. This means using more recycled materials in manufacturing, aiming for a degree of circularity. “What we would prefer is to be able to take the tire at the end of its life and make a new one out of it, because that is even better for the planet than being able to just put it in flower beds. “That way, we won’t have to take raw materials from the Earth to make the tires.”