This is a study conducted by one of the leaders in real-world emissions testing, Emission Analytics.
A study that demonstrates the impact of automobile tires on the production of particles.
The results are clear: tires emit 3,500 times more particles than automobile exhausts.
Dangerous particles
While Europe has mainly focused its legislation on reducing emissions from powertrains, tire particles would not only be much more numerous, but also more dangerous.
According to Emissions Analytics, they are indeed up to 2000 times more toxic! Tire particles have become the primary source of fine particles along with brake particles.
The greatest car pollution
According to the English organization, a new tire used on the road emits up to 73 mg of fine particles per kilometer against 36 mg/km. Figures to be compared to the particles emitted by a heat engine, around 0.02 mg/km.
Faced with such figures, the study concludes by indicating that tires have become the main source of pollution in the use of an automobile. But what is the real impact of this pollution?
Hundreds of thousands of tons of rubber
Also according to the study, it is a bewildering quantity of material that is found rejected in the environment.
We are talking about 300,000 tonnes of rubber rejected each year, only in the United States and the United Kingdom, only for passenger cars and light commercial vehicles.
But the most worrying according to the study would be the hundreds of other chemicals of which the tires are composed. Substances most often recognized as carcinogens.
A devastating impact
These particles pollute the air, water and soil and have a long-lasting impact on public health. Especially since the particles produced by the tires are smaller than 23 nanometers.
A size so microscopic that they are able to penetrate both the respiratory tract but also the organs and the blood.
Other research tends to prove that these particles end up in the ocean and contribute to the disappearance of salmon.
A growing phenomenon due to the increase in the weight of vehicles, and the generalization of electric cars, which are also heavier. Note that brake particles will be integrated into the future Euro7 standard and will have to be vacuumed.
To date, nothing has been provided by the legislator to limit particles from tires.