Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

Toxicity of airborne particles—established evidence, knowledge gaps and emerging areas of importance

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.

2020 Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences 115 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Real-World Non-Exhaust Particulates from Vehicles

This study characterized non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicles including brake wear, tire wear, and road surface particles, examining their size distributions, chemical composition, and toxicity potential. The results support calls for regulatory frameworks that extend beyond tailpipe emissions to address the full spectrum of vehicle-derived pollution.

2022 Energies 14 citations
Article Tier 2

Review of Health Effects of Automotive Brake and Tyre Wear Particles

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.

2025 Toxics 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Real-world Non-exhaust Particulates from Vehicles

Researchers characterized non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicle tire and road wear, collecting atmospheric PM samples with a high-volume quartz filter sampler and using pyrolysis-GC/MS to analyze tire rubber markers including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals, quantifying the contribution of tire-brake-road wear particles to urban air pollution.

2022 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of Real-world Non-exhaust Particulates from Vehicles

Researchers analyzed non-exhaust particulate emissions from vehicles by collecting tire and atmospheric PM samples, using pyrolysis-GC/MS and ICP/MS to identify polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and heavy metals as markers, and found that tire and road wear particles contribute substantially to atmospheric particulate matter with toxicological implications.

2022 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Analytical Investigation of Tire Induced Particle Emissions

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.

2021 1 citations
Article Tier 2

Concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in the road environment

Researchers measured actual environmental concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in a rural highway setting, providing field-based data to complement the theoretical estimates that dominate current literature.

2022 Environment International 153 citations
Article Tier 2

The problem of emission of total particulate matter and heavy metals from tribological systems in vehicles

Researchers measured total particulate matter and heavy metal emissions generated by tribological contact — friction and wear between mechanical components — finding that brake and tire wear produces significant airborne particle loads containing lead, copper, zinc, and other metals. The results underscore tribological wear as a major non-exhaust source of urban air pollution.

2024 Silniki Spalinowe/Combustion Engines 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Measurement and Analysis of Brake and Tyre Particle Emissions from Automotive Series Components for High-Load Driving Tests on a Wheel and Suspension Test Bed

This is not primarily about microplastics — it is a vehicle emissions study measuring brake and tyre particle emissions (size distribution, mass, and composition) under high-load driving conditions on a test bed, focused on aerosol characterization and non-exhaust emissions regulation.

2024 Atmosphere 2 citations
Article Tier 2

Markovian city-scale modelling and mitigation of micro-particles from tires

This modeling study estimated tire wear particle emissions at a city scale, finding that as vehicle fleets electrify and tailpipe emissions decline, non-exhaust emissions from tire and brake wear will become the dominant form of traffic-related particulate pollution. Because tire wear particles contain microplastics and toxic chemicals, this shift raises serious public health concerns that warrant stronger regulatory attention.

2021 PLoS ONE 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Contribution of Road Vehicle Tyre Wear to Microplastics and Ambient Air Pollution

This review finds that tire wear from road vehicles contributes one-third to one-half of all microplastics released unintentionally into the environment, with passenger cars generating about 110 milligrams per kilometer driven. Most tire particles end up in soil, but a portion becomes airborne, contributing 5-30% of road transport particulate matter emissions. Since the smallest tire particles can be inhaled, this is a significant and often overlooked source of daily microplastic exposure for people living near roads.

2024 Sustainability 107 citations
Article Tier 2

Unveiling the mechanism secret of abrasion emissions of particulate matter and microplastics

Researchers investigated the physical and chemical mechanisms driving particulate matter and microplastic emissions from tire abrasion and other organic material wear, a major but poorly understood source of airborne and marine microplastics. The study identified key abrasion mechanisms and material properties that govern emission rates, providing a foundation for reducing non-exhaust traffic-related microplastic pollution.

2024 Scientific Reports 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre-Induced Microplastics: An Unknown Arena for e-Mobility

This review examines tyre-induced microplastics as a major but underappreciated non-exhaust vehicle emission, particularly in the context of the transition to e-mobility, and evaluates how tyre abrasion contributes to traffic-related microplastic loading in the environment. The paper highlights that electric vehicles, despite eliminating exhaust emissions, may generate comparable or greater tyre wear particles due to higher vehicle mass, making tyre microplastics an urgent area for regulation.

2024 Premier Journal of Engineering
Article Tier 2

Characteristics of pollutants emitted by motor vehicles and their impact on the environment and engine operation

This review examines the pollutants emitted by motor vehicles, including both gaseous emissions and solid particles that contribute to environmental contamination. Researchers described how engine combustion and tire wear generate fine particles, including microplastics from tire rubber, that are dispersed into the surrounding air, soil, and water. The study highlights that vehicle-related pollution extends beyond exhaust gases to include significant microplastic contributions from tire and brake wear.

2024 Silniki Spalinowe/Combustion Engines 4 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre and road wear particles (TRWP) - A review of generation, properties, emissions, human health risk, ecotoxicity, and fate in the environment

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.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 723 citations
Article Tier 2

Vehicle Emission Models and Traffic Simulators: A Review

This review covers vehicle emission models and traffic simulation tools used to estimate air pollution from road traffic. While not directly about microplastics, vehicle emissions include tire and brake wear particles that are a major source of microplastics in urban environments. Better emission modeling helps researchers understand the full scope of pollution, including microplastic-generating particulate matter, from transportation.

2023 Preprints.org 38 citations
Review Tier 2

Vehicle Emission Models and Traffic Simulators: A Review

This review surveys vehicle emission models and traffic simulation tools used to estimate air pollution from road traffic. While focused on exhaust emissions, the methods discussed are relevant to understanding non-exhaust pollution like tire wear microplastics, which are released in large quantities from vehicle tires. Better emission modeling could help quantify the full scope of traffic-related microplastic pollution in urban areas.

2023 Energies 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Characterisation of non-exhaust emissions from road traffic in Lisbon

Researchers characterized road dust particles in Lisbon, Portugal, finding that brake and tyre wear contribute high levels of copper and zinc to street surfaces, and that arsenic levels in road dust exceeded safe cancer risk thresholds on 90% of sampled streets. The findings highlight the underappreciated health risks from non-exhaust traffic emissions — particles released not from engines but from road surfaces, tires, and brakes — which also contribute to microplastic pollution.

2022 Atmospheric Environment 26 citations
Article Tier 2

Micro and Nano Pollutants from Tires and Car Brakes Generated in Winter Season in the Poznan City Urban Environment

Tire and brake pad wear from vehicles releases rubber particles and metal-oxide pollutants at the micro and nanoscale into the urban environment, with snow deposits in Poznan, Poland found to contain rubber residues smaller than 2 micrometers. These non-exhaust traffic emissions represent a significant and often overlooked pathway for microplastic and metal pollution in cities, with implications for urban air, soil, and water quality.

2024 Preprints.org 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Mechanism of microplastic and nanoplastic emission from tire wear

Scientists showed that normal tire wear produces two distinct populations of plastic particles: smaller airborne nanoplastics that stay suspended in the air, and larger microplastics that settle to the ground. Nanoplastic emissions increase dramatically with vehicle speed and weight, and electric charge keeps the smallest particles floating in the air where they can be inhaled. This research identifies tire wear as a major and previously underappreciated source of breathable nanoplastic pollution.

2025 Soft Matter 6 citations
Review Tier 2

Microplastics from tyre and road wear A literature review

This literature review examines microplastics generated from tire and road wear, identifying road traffic as a significant but often overlooked source of plastic pollution in urban runoff and waterways. The authors assess what is known about tire particle composition, environmental fate, and potential ecological effects.

2020 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) 32 citations
Article Tier 2

Pollution from Transport: Detection of Tyre Particles in Environmental Samples

This study reviews tyre wear particles as a major but underestimated source of microplastic pollution from road transport, describing methods for detecting these particles in environmental samples including road dust, waterways, and soils. The authors call for greater regulatory attention to tyre-derived emissions alongside other transport-related pollutants.

2022 Energies 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre Wear Particles in the Environment: Sources, Toxicity, and Remediation Approaches

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.

2025 Sustainability 19 citations
Article Tier 2

Detecting the Invisible: Analytical Advances and Regulatory Gaps in Tyre and Road Wear Particle Pollution

This research review reveals that tiny particles from car tires scraping against roads make up nearly 28% of all microplastic pollution worldwide, yet we barely understand or regulate this massive source of contamination. These tire particles contain rubber, metals, and other chemicals that spread through the air we breathe and water systems, but scientists still lack consistent methods to properly detect and measure them. The study highlights an urgent need for better testing methods and pollution policies to protect human health from this largely invisible but widespread form of microplastic exposure.

2026 Microplastics