Pollution from tire rubber- a newly identified concern, how can we mitigate it?

[cheez]

Folks-
I read this earlier and it was enlightening, to say the least. The fact that the initial data is being gathered here in the Bay Area, and that it points to a severe pollution vector that has gone previously unnoticed, is interesting. I'm curious to hear how ya'll think we could mitigate this issue and what can be done to eliminate the impact that lost rubber causes on the environment.

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/when-rubber-hits-the-road-and-washes-away/

The storm unleashed one evening in late November 2018. The first splashes of rain wet the streets of Oakland, California, with a smell like damp stone. Then, a crescendo of water pounded roofs, drops glancing off gutters with metallic pings. As the storm water sluiced over sidewalks and streets, it erased the boundary between land and sea, carrying branches, plastic bottles, motor oil, and more into San Francisco Bay.

At 10:30 that night, an industrial slough near the Oakland Coliseum roared to life. The slough wasn’t particularly noticeable hidden behind chain-link fences. But the vast surrounding parking lot made it perfect for measuring the stuff scoured from the city streets by rain. All the water falling across five square kilometers of mostly impervious pavement ran through this choke point. Huddled in rain gear on an overpass, a research team from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) was ready for the cascade. As a stream of cars carrying concertgoers rolled out of the coliseum parking lot, the researchers used sampling rods to sip more than 70 liters from the stream of storm water below.

Later, the team discovered a shocking amount of rubbery black fragments in their samples. Over three years, as they tested water at 12 stormwater outlets and sediment at 20 sites around the bay, they found much the same. Some 7.2 trillion synthetic particles are washing into San Francisco Bay each year, says Rebecca Sutton, a senior scientist at SFEI and the study lead. “Almost half those stormwater particles, so a really high percentage, were rubbery particles that we think are mostly coming from tires.”

 

[mean dad]

Whoops.

 

[Brokenlink]

I don't think this is much of a surprise.

 

[bojangle]

I don't think this is much of a surprise.

Exactly.

Just what, exactly, did everyone think was happening to all those worn down tires?

 

[gixxerjeff]

I don't think this is much of a surprise.

^^This^^
Tires have been an ecological nightmare since forever. Only mosquitos disagree.

 

[mean dad]

I would have easily bet both of you a hundred bucks you wouldn't have guessed that about half of storm runoff debris is rubber.

 

[greenmonster]

So dumb some questions here, how long do rubber particles stay in the environment? Do they degrade after a while and become harmless? Or are they more permanent in nature? And after so many decades of rubber tired vehicles on earth why wasn’t this an issue before?

 

[mean dad]

A) They don't degrade to nothingness, they simply get smaller and smaller over time. I suppose they might be ground down to rubber dust before they're washed out to sea but rubber dust probably ain't so great for the environment either.

B) This has always been an issue but the knowledge of how much is new. Watch this thread for examples of why it's still an issue and will remain an issue for a long time.
Why cry about little rubber bits when people are literally throwing truckloads of garbage directly into rivers and lakes?

 

[stangmx13]

I worked at a tire shop many years ago. We sold 100-200 tires per day, each one representing pounds of rubber lost to the environment. And there are LOTS of tire shops around CA. Cars are messy.

Real public transportation would be nice. Or maybe we just never drive anymore and do things within walking/biking distance of our homes.

 

[cheez]

So dumb some questions here, how long do rubber particles stay in the environment? Do they degrade after a while and become harmless? Or are they more permanent in nature? And after so many decades of rubber tired vehicles on earth why wasn’t this an issue before?

It's a new area of pollution science, just being developed- it even talks about how there's no standard measurement for particulate rubber in water, etc. in the article. It seems to me like rubber is fairly permanent in nature, and without forces to abrade it into dust, would remain small particles for a long time.

Like said above, previously the level of noise was so high that picking up this signal was impossible- you were pulling entire tires out of waterways, not particulate runoff from roads. As more and more folks drive more and more cars, though, the signal becomes stronger, and as the noise has been abated by our society, we've started to detect it.

 

[Brokenlink]

I would have easily bet both of you a hundred bucks you wouldn't have guessed that about half of storm runoff debris is rubber.

This is true. I would have assumed at last half was shit from automobiles, but not specifically the rubber.

 

[Bay Arean]

Thanks for starting this. I have always wondered where it all goes....I thought of it as airborne, going into our lungs.

 

[Eldritch]

I will own that I am part of the problem. I am unaware of any good solution.

 

[gixxerjeff]

This is true. I would have assumed at last half was shit from automobiles, but not specifically the rubber.

It wasn't that long ago that lead wheel weights were outlawed. Don't get me started on how many road oilers are out there.
Progress moves slowly. Just look how long it took to get coolant embittered so kids and dogs would quit dying. It will take a while for the concern to move down to fish and bugs.
I spent most of my life (until fairly recently) in the automotive industry. I am an admitted enabler. I cringe at how many Prius' I kept on the road endangering innocent motorcyclists. (hangs head in shame:laughing)

 

[Butch]

We installed some huge make up air units at Applied Materials. I dunno, 200K cfm NEXT TO Central Expressway.

The filters became black immediately. Tires.
Thank goodness for The Corona. Not so many tires being aerosolized...

 

[gixxerjeff]

Thank goodness for The Corona. Not so many tires being aerosolized...

:laughing
You're sick, man.

 

[Eldritch]

:laughing
You're sick, man.

I am DREADFULLY curious to see what the air/water/etc. quality data looks like for 1 year after SIP. Should be very interesting.

 

[gixxerjeff]

I am DREADFULLY curious to see what the air/water/etc. quality data looks like for 1 year after SIP. Should be very interesting.

Same here but I suspect we are just moving the water elsewhere in the balloon. SIP will have us not polluting as much in some places and more in others.
We are filthy creatures.

 

[DucatiHoney]

Folks-
I read this earlier and it was enlightening, to say the least. The fact that the initial data is being gathered here in the Bay Area, and that it points to a severe pollution vector that has gone previously unnoticed, is interesting. I'm curious to hear how ya'll think we could mitigate this issue and what can be done to eliminate the impact that lost rubber causes on the environment.

https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/when-rubber-hits-the-road-and-washes-away/

The Building Code already addresses the need for walk-off mats for instance--this is a direct result of the knowledge that one's shoes pick up some pretty heinous stuff from the road/sidewalks and folks shouldn't be breathing it in indoor environments. William McDonough in particular comes to mind for this topic.

I went to a talk he gave back in 2000 back when platform boots were a thing. I was wearing a pair, and guess who got called out publicly for being a crappy steward of the environment? :laughing Shoes, tires, all the black rubber stuff is apparently super-bad. I don't remember exactly what it did or how much of it was out there (not sure if that was known then or now), but I believe he cited some research indicating that it could perhaps be linked to chromosomal changes in humans. Eeeeek!

I thought he was a total douche, but I did eventually give up the platform shoes and didn't replace them, not solely (pun!) because they weren't the coolest thing, but because I felt bad being a potential baby-killer.

 

[TheRobSJ]

Yeeeaaaahhhh sorry about that. I’ve probably taken a year off all of your lives with my shenanigans over the years...