It is universally known that vehicles that work by internal combustion engines, gasoline, diesel and gas cause air pollution, but a new report revealed that tires and brakes cause more pollution than exhaust.
Wear and tear on car tires and brakes releases fine particles into the air, linked to heart and lung disease, according to a report published by The Washington Post.
According to the report, scientists have recently discovered that worn tires and brakes cause an alarming amount of particulate pollution, which could be a problem for the environment and human health.
For decades, scientists and health officials have warned drivers about harmful pollutants coming from exhaust pipes. But as car exhaust systems become cleaner (they contain filters to filter out harmful emissions), pollution linked to heart and lung disease has increased from a different source which are tires and brakes.
Much of the pollution comes from road dust caused by driving. In recent years, particulate matter emissions from brakes and tires have also begun to grow, even surpassing those from tailpipes in some locations.
The report indicated that the pollution caused by brakes and tires is also not benign. Tests conducted by Emissions Analytics, an engineering consultancy based in England, found that tires produce 2,000 times more particulate pollution than tailpipes by mass. In addition to not being regulated, these emissions exceed legal particulate matter limits for exhaust. The emissions also consist of more than 400 compounds of various sizes and toxicities.
In contrast to the damage caused by tires, an environmental study in the past years between Oman Cement Company and the Omani Holding Company for Environmental Services (be’ah) revealed the importance of utilising expired tires as fuel that reduces the consumption of natural gas currently used in cement manufacturing furnaces at the Oman Cement Company. This is because tires are the most suitable for this purpose and are also the easiest in terms of handling.
The study also concluded that the factory systems are ready to deal with the gas emissions resulting from the burning of tires in a safe and sound manner and without damage to the surrounding environment. Even several precautionary measures were proposed for safety and security measures.
There are sites dedicated to the proper disposal of tires in various parts of the Sultanate of Oman, and there are efforts being made to reduce the damage of expired tires, indicating that tires are usually burned to extract the minerals contained within these tires, and that those people who are trying to extract these minerals need to understand that the damage to their health and the environment is much more than the value of the metal they extract.
be’ah called on the public to learn and raise awareness about the harms of burning tires to the environment and people.
One of the most prominent solutions to avoid burning tires is to reuse the tire after it has been treated by specialists, and to recycle tires so that they can be used to make useful things from them. In addition to using tires as a source of energy in factories so that they are burned in ovens to generate energy for those factories, and the rehabilitation of tires is the process of building the outer layer of the tire, so that it is usable for a new period.
There are many ways to recycle damaged tires, as it is one of the best solutions. These tires can be used in designing gardens, vertical farming, street paving, and use in sports surfaces and floors of children’s play areas to protect them during falls. Also, they can be used in the manufacture of garbage bins and some pieces of home furniture such as chairs and tables. They are also used in port docks to prevent boats from colliding with the dock.
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