Cars don’t just emit toxic gases. The wear and tear from their tires also has an impact on the environment. A study has discovered tire residues in vegetables.
According to a field study, chemical substances from the abrasion of car tires can accumulate in leafy vegetables. Although the concentration of the substances was low, the evidence was nevertheless clear, environmental scientists at the University of Vienna reported.
This is a finding that is also known for drug residues in plant-based foods. The study was published in the journal “Frontiers in Environmental Science” and supports the results of an earlier laboratory study. Vegetables that had grown in Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Israel were examined. However, the results are certainly transferable to Germany, for example, said Thilo Hofmann from the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science at the University of Vienna (CeMESS).
Car tires are made of a complex mixture of materials that improve their performance and durability, the researchers said. This also includes chemical additives that comprise hundreds of substances. The particles from the tires are washed into sewage treatment plants when it rains, for example, and the sewage sludge produced there is often spread on fields as fertilizer. “There they can be absorbed by plants and thus reach people,” said Hofmann, head of the research group.
The samples were tested for a total of sixteen chemical compounds that are associated with tires. “While the concentrations and daily intake are fortunately relatively low, substances from car tires are still found in food. They don’t belong there,” said Hofmann. The next steps should now be to examine the health aspects. The study is a collaboration between CeMESS and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
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