Returning coho salmon suffer high mortality rates before they can spawn. Some years ago, stormwater was determined to be a culprit. In a report in today's Science, researchers tracked down a particular chemical, an antioxidant in virtually all tires, that becomes toxic when it reacts to atmospheric ozone. Tire dust along roadways then gets flushed into waterways by stormwater. This is specific to coho salmon, not chinook or chum. Stormwater filtration through soil / bark chips / gravel is effective at detoxifying the water, but most stormwater flushes into waterways without any treatment. SeattleTimes: Tire dust killing coho salmon returning to Puget Sound, new research shows SeattleTimes 2017: Stormwater pollution in Puget Sound streams killing coho before they can spawn
Thanks. Have not read Science article yet but if this PPO (?) is so toxic, there will be more trouble later. Vehicle tires are unimpressive from a 'sustainability' perspective. Make a 10 to 15 kg thing, turn 1 kg (at most) into what appears to be somewhat toxic microparticulate, emit all that to land air water, and then discard the rest. Recycling into roadways and running tracks is currently low %age. Tire fires are horrible and not uncommon. Some tire mfrs (forgot which) have impressive substitutes on drawing boards. Not much pressure to commercialize them. At the front end, turning rubber-tree sap into commodity latex is icky in itself. Sorry to burden readers. == On bright side, Virgin Galactic (TM) will use rocket-grade fresh rubber crumb (not recycled) for 100-km near space tourism. They have not invited me to collect air samples downrange
Source: Airless Tires | Benefits for Cars & the Future of Airless Tires Source_2: What Is Tire Rolling Resistance? | Bridgestone Tires WHAT TYPES OF LOW ROLLING RESISTANCE TIRES DOES BRIDGESTONE OFFER? Here at Bridgestone, the tires with the best rolling resistance are in the Ecopia line. They’re also our most fuel-efficient tires. Our Ecopia line of tires is engineered to offer a balanced, all-season comfortable ride and a top-notch driving experience. Some of our Ecopia tires are even partially made from recycled rubber to improve their environmental friendliness. Our entire line of Ecopia tires is designed to offer drivers an eco-friendlier all-season tire option that doesn’t compromise on performance or ride comfort. For example, our premium Ecopia tire, the Ecopia EP422 Plus, is specially designed utilizing a proprietary fuelsaver tread and sidewall compound that helps counteract tire rolling resistance to get you extra mileage from every tank of gas* than the leading Firestone tire. The Ecopia 422 Plus tire offers an optimized contact footprint that helps distribute your vehicle’s weight evenly across the tire for even wear and longer tire life, as well as an innovative tread pattern that helps keep your tires quiet and your ride comfortable. The tread is a narrow, wear band that is replaceable. No more seasonal tire inflation. Bob Wilson
Yes like that. Michelin has something also. I was asked to participate in a 'sustainable rubber' grant proposal. Not funded. I am grumpy about tires being stoopid 19th century technology. Rolling road-interface devices create friction against fixed substrates. Whoever makes these devices better and 'sustainable', gets filthy rich. ~A billion tires in service await your brilliance. ==One insect with gut microbes digests waste rubber. Want to know more? Read the damn lit.
Vs. fishing, food processing, transportation, wholesale, restaurant & retail employees? I mean it's a lot of people either way but I bet the tire industry has managed to automate itself down to a smaller headcount than premium fresh food.
Well you'd see certain fishers put under; if you're set up for coho you aren't really set up for anything else. Processing is done in cycles timed to when different species run. So this would be processing plants going dark/furlough for a few weeks, then coming back when something else runs. Not a complete shutout. Restaurants & retail shuffle stuff around, one fewer high-profit item to offer. so no, it's not lights-out for the whole supply chain, some get hit harder than others. If we can do useful filtration on highway runoff and maybe get some fundamental materials changeouts done in auto tires, we might still get a decent fish dinner.
i'm for anything to clean up the environment, but that's a big IF in the meantime, at least the tire unemployment rates won't add to an already discouraging reports.
There won't be any tire chain unemployment unless we do something that reduces the demand for tires. And that would likely affect the entire private automotive market. An ingredient change is far more likely. It is described as a preservative, so that would be a "yes".
80 thousand US workers according to Tire manufacturing | Data USA Globally, maybe 10 times that? No data source seems obvious. Anyway, vehicles need some sort of friction interface, and the need for people in supply chain is durable. This is not to say that current tire design and manufacture is best that can be done. Actually, for reasons I listed above, it's pretty sucky. Innovation should be prevented because jobs are at stake? Not really a fresh argument. == latex polymers, butyl rubber and polystyrene are a group of chemicals that reacts eagerly with both ozone and UV light. This preservative seems to slow that down during item useful life. Tire replacements might need similar, unless their chemistry is quite different. == Clarinets are like tires but with more sulfur The cheap ones anyway. Fancy ones are ebony or some other endangered topical wood species. We are beset from all sides.
Toxicity of 6PPD-quinone has far been tested only in coho salmon. Authors told how to make it (pretty simple) and I expect a wide range of aquatic critters to be tested soon. If it goes badly, authors suggestion to identify a friendlier anti-ozonation chemical for tires (as they are) will be followed. That may well succeed.
3.1 billion tires per year. Whatever manufacturer pastes a new green label on their good will increase market share. == NOAA and USFWS authors are listed. So I'm not seeing evidence of govt handcuffing here. They seem to have needed to bring in a couple of real chemists from Toronto
i doubt it. michelin green edge is not a big seller and people with the biggest dirtiest tires will be the only ones left with the financial wherewithal to buy coho salmon and maybe gov newsome
It’s required in any tire that sees oxygen and sunlight Natural would likely net you a 3-6 month tire and inner tubes would definitely become a requirement again Of greater concern one of the “antioxidants “ used in tires is also in ramen noodles, chewing gum, gasoline (among other things) maybe we should ban it and find an alternative?
Can we make enough vitamin E and C to replace the synthetic antioxidants? Maybe we should address all the run off our paved surfaces cause, and not simply let it run into water ways.