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Science X's Phys.org site describes a report about the harm from tire particles, which account for about a third of all microplastic contamination in the environment. Unlike other types of plastic, tire particles are smaller, have greater chemical complexity, and different behavior in ecosystems. Thus the call is for them to be placed in a new, separate enviromental category.
The study, published in the journal Environmental Research, highlights the gap in current knowledge about the environmental presence, transportation, and toxic impact of these particles. The authors have identified ten priority research questions across four key themes: environmental detection, chemical composition, biotic impacts, and regulation.
The research brought together an interdisciplinary network of experts from countries including the U.K., U.S., Norway, Australia, South Korea, Finland, Austria, China, and Canada. Their findings underscore the need for a standardized framework to quantify and manage TPs and their leachates, especially as the global presence of these contaminants rises.
A second study is being carried out on the effects from tire chemicals and particles on marine life in UK waters.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday November 22, @05:15AM
> ... tires are a significant source of a type of "microplastics", ...
For work I watch a couple of tire industry trade magazines. There have been a few serious studies of tire particulate generation, for example, one I recall used a vacuum system mounted behind a tire and collected the wear particles while driving around. Others sample the ground at different distances from the edge of busy highways and look at the amount (and size) of tire wear particles--no surprise, the smaller particles travel further from the road and are more likely to end up in water. Sorry, no cites, but this kind of research is ongoing and you are probably going to hear more about it as time goes on.
Another post mentions substitutions for rubber and this is also a research topic inside the rubber industry. Historically, the search for substitutes is more about future-proofing in case some disease takes out the natural rubber plants--like bananas, this tree is nearly a mono-culture. Yes, natural rubber (latex, tree sap) is still a significant part of nearly all tires, since natural rubber is lower hysteresis (lower energy loss) than all the synthetic rubbers invented so far.