Six million tonnes of harmful particles are produced by tyres worldwide each year.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nEmissions from tyres are devastating the environment<\/h3>\n The particulate matter produced by tyres contributes to microplastics in rivers and oceans. Estimates show that city tyre wear pollution incurs a four-fold greater environmental risk than other microplastics.<\/p>\n
Although technologies like filters and environmental policies can help reduce particulate matter levels, further research is essential to understand the mechanisms influencing tyre wear pollution fully.<\/p>\n
Dr Will Pearse from Imperial\u2019s Department of Life Sciences added: \u201cTyre waste does not naturally degrade and instead builds up in the environment, and may interact with other pollutants as well as biological organisms. Our gaps in understanding make further research and development of new solutions vital so we can limit all types of vehicular pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n
What measures does the paper outline to combat these effects?<\/h3>\n The researchers are imploring policymakers and scientists to examine the complexities of tyre wear pollution, such as the basics of wear-particle production and their impacts on human health and the planet.<\/p>\n
They also champion innovating particle capture technologies, new advanced materials, and disruptive business models to employ novel transport options. They stated that these should be amalgamated into clear policies and regulations in the transport sector.<\/p>\n
The team made the following recommendations:<\/p>\n
\nEstablish standardised ways of measuring environmental tyre wear levels and their toxicity;<\/li>\n Reduce harm to land and water species and humans by tightening limits on the use of harmful components in tyre materials;<\/li>\n Launch new trials to understand better the short and long-term effects of different-sized particles on the environment and human health; and<\/li>\n Increase efforts to understand underlying wear mechanisms better and design wear mitigation strategies such as reducing vehicle weight, using advanced driving techniques, and ensuring tyre materials pass wear resistance regulations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Leading researchers from Imperial College London are pressing for decisive action to tackle toxic tyre wear pollution.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":30325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24433],"tags":[689,3365,652],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Tyre wear pollution must be combatted now, Imperial College experts say<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n