Study: Airborne tire pollution is harmful to human health

A new study shows that tiny particles of a rubber additive cast off by car tires combine with ozone pollution to pose a health risk to humans and animals.

According to an article in Yale Environment 360, "To understand the potential health risks from tire pollution, researchers exposed human immune cells to a mixture of tire-derived pollutants as well as 6PPD-quinone on its own. The mixture caused rapid cell death, among other harms, according to the research, published in the journal Environment International."

The findings indicate that the risk from airborne tire pollutants may be higher than scientists believed. 6PPD-quinone has been previously implicated in the deaths of spawning salmon in the Pacific Northwest. 

According to the study's lead author, another notable finding — that 6PPD-quinone is not particularly harmful to human cells on its own — suggests that "focusing on a single compound may substantially underestimate the real health risks associated with tire-derived air pollution."