Car tires and environmental impact
At NIVA, we work actively to analyse and understand how different tires affect the environment, and how different chemical content in tires affects measurements made in environmental samples.
Car tire particles have received a lot of attention in recent years as one of the largest sources of microplastics worldwide. In addition, car tires contain a wide range of chemicals that can be linked to negative effects in the environment. At NIVA, we are working to further develop and optimise analytical methods for measuring quantities of car tire particles and car tire-related substances in the environment. We also assess the ecotoxicological effects of car tires.
Through various projects, NIVA has measured car tire particles and substances in different types of environmental samples, including tunnel wash water, road dust, sludge, sand traps, snow, sediments, water from marine and freshwater environments, and mussels. Our research shows that there are differences between different types of tires (e.g. summer and winter tires), and between different brands and models.
Get in touch if you want to know more about what we can contribute in this area.
Car tire database
To better understand the correlations and highlight the variation between different types of tires, NIVA has created a separate car tire database with results for rubber, inorganic substances and organic substances. This database is based on NIVA's own results, which are published in scientific works, including international journals.
Some of the results from the study
This work © 2024 by Elisabeth Rødland is licensed under CC BY 4.0
