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Review of Health Effects of Automotive Brake and Tyre Wear Particles
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This review summarizes what is known about the health effects of brake dust and tire wear particles, which are now the largest transport-related sources of particulate air pollution in cities. Tire microplastics are also the biggest contributor of unintentionally released microplastics in the environment, and the review examines their effects on human cells and organisms as the EU introduces the first worldwide limits on these emissions.
Non-exhaust emissions from brakes and tyres are becoming the major transport-related contributor of particulate matter (PM) pollution in cities. Furthermore, tyre microplastics are the major contributor of unintentionally released microplastics in all environmental compartments. The European Union introduced for the first time worldwide limits for brakes (PM10) and tyres (total abrasion mass) with the Euro 7 regulatory step. Thus, the interest in brake and tyre particles regarding health and environmental impacts has significantly increased in recent years. In this review, we summarise studies that assessed the impact of brake and tyre particles on human, mammalian, aquatic, and terrestrial cells and organisms. Furthermore, we summarise the studies that compared the impact of brake and tyre particles to other sources. We also critically examine the sampling methodologies of brake and tyre particles for health and environmental impact studies.
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Tyre Wear Particles in the Environment: Sources, Toxicity, and Remediation Approaches
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This review examines tire wear particles, which account for a major share of global microplastic pollution with 1.3 million metric tons released annually in Europe alone. These rubber-based particles contain heavy metals and toxic organic chemicals that contaminate air, water, and soil, and human exposure occurs through inhaling dust, eating contaminated food, and drinking water, raising concerns about respiratory, cardiovascular, and cancer risks.
Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) - A review of generation, properties, emissions, human health risk, ecotoxicity, and fate in the environment
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This comprehensive review compiles current knowledge on tyre and road wear particles, which are generated during driving and contribute to both airborne emissions and microplastic pollution. Researchers found that per-capita tyre wear emissions range from 0.2 to 5.5 kilograms per person per year, with particles ending up in soils, waterways, and the air. While the risk from inhaling these particles appears low, the potential health effects from ingesting them through the food chain remain largely unknown.
Analytical Investigation of Tire Induced Particle Emissions
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This automotive engineering study measured the size distribution of fine dust particles (under 10 micrometers) generated by tire wear, finding that tire-derived particles represent a significant non-exhaust source of urban particulate matter. As electric vehicle adoption reduces exhaust emissions, tire and brake wear particles will become a proportionally larger component of urban air pollution. These tire wear particles are also a major source of microplastic contamination in road runoff.
Toxicity of airborne particles—established evidence, knowledge gaps and emerging areas of importance
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This toxicology review examined health effects of airborne particulate matter with specific attention to non-exhaust roadside particles (brake and tire wear) and microplastics, identifying knowledge gaps in their relative contributions to cardiorespiratory disease and calling for better characterization of emerging PM sources.
The emission characteristics, environmental and health impacts of tire wear particles: A review
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This review summarizes existing research on tiny particles worn off tires, which range from coarse dust to invisible nanoparticles. It describes how these particles spread through air, soil and water, affect soil chemistry and harm aquatic life, and cause lung inflammation and cell damage in laboratory studies, though direct evidence of harm to human health remains limited.
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When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.