Microscopic particles emitted from brake pads can be more toxic than those emitted in diesel vehicle exhaust, a study has found.

This research shows that even with a move to electric vehicles, pollution from cars may not be able to be eradicated.

The researchers found that a higher concentration of copper in some commonly used brake pads was associated with increased harmful effects on sensitive cells from people’s lungs, as a result of particles being breathed in.

Exposure to pollution generated by cars, vans and lorries has been previously been linked to an increased risk of lung and heart disease. While past attention has mainly concentrated on exhaust emissions, particles are also released into the air from tyre, road and brake pad wear.

These emissions are largely unregulated by legislation and the study found that these “non-exhaust” pollution sources are now responsible for the majority of vehicle particulate matter emissions in the UK and parts of Europe, with brake dust the main contributor among them.

Dr James Parkin, from the University of Southampton and lead author of the study published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology, said: “People generally associate pollution from cars as being from exhaust pipes and think of electric vehicles as having zero emissions. However, electric vehicles still produce particulate matter due to friction and wear of the road, tyres, and brakes.

[…]

Results showed that of the four types of brake pads, non-asbestos organic pads were the most potent at inducing inflammation and other markers of toxicity, and were found to be more toxic to human lung cells than diesel exhaust particles. Ceramic pads were the second most toxic.

Dr Ian Mudway, senior lecturer at the school of public health at Imperial College London, said that while the research appeared sound it was premature to conclude that emissions from brake pad wear were worse than diesel exhaust.

He said: “Too many variables remain uncontrolled: brake disc types [a highly varied category], diesel exhaust particle composition, and chosen endpoints, among others. While this paper focuses on brakes, tyre wear and road dust resuspension should also be considered. This has significant policy implications, as it suggests that policies solely targeting exhaust emissions will not fully mitigate the risks of traffic-related pollutants.”

The project supervisor Prof Matthew Loxham said this was “a fair comment” but said the brake wear particles were generated on a test rig according to a standard braking cycle, different types and speed of braking, which is used for brake testing, “therefore one would expect the particles to be representative of general real world brake wear particles”.

“Although there may well be differences to the particles from each of these sources caused by changes in braking or engine parameters, I think it would be fair to hypothesise that these differences would be rather less than the differences due to the individual sources,” he said.

[…]

Source: Brake pad dust can be more toxic than exhaust emissions, study says | Automotive emissions | The Guardian

Eating from plastic takeout containers may significantly increase the chance of congestive heart failure, a new study finds, and researchers suspect they have identified why: changes to gut biome cause inflammation that damages the circulatory system.

The novel two part, peer-reviewed study from Chinese researchers adds to mounting evidence of the risks associated with eating from plastic, and builds on previous evidence linking plastic chemicals to heart disease.

The authors used a two-part approach, first looking into the frequency with which over 3,000 people in China ate from plastic takeout containers, and whether they had heart disease. They then exposed rats to plastic chemicals in water that was boiled and poured in carryout containers to extract chemicals.

Reduce, reuse, refuse: tips to cut down plastic use in your kitchen

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“The data revealed that high-frequency exposure to plastics is significantly associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure,” the authors wrote.

Plastic can contain any of about 20,000 chemicals, and many of them, such as BPA, phthalates and Pfas, present health risks. The chemicals are often found in food and food packaging, and are linked to a range of problems from cancer to reproductive harm.

While researchers in the new paper didn’t check which specific chemicals were leaching from the plastic, they noted the link between common plastic compounds and heart disease, and a previous link between gut biome and heart disease.

They put boiling water in the containers for one, five or 15 minutes because plastic chemicals leach at much higher rates when hot contents are placed in containers – the study cited previous research that found as many as 4.2m microplastic particles per sq cm can leach from plastic containers that are microwaved.

The authors then gave rats the water contaminated with leachate to drink for several months, then analyzed the gut biome and metabolites in the feces. It found notable changes.

“It indicated that ingestion of these leachates altered the intestinal microenvironment, affected gut microbiota composition, and modified gut microbiota metabolites, particularly those linked to inflammation and oxidative stress,” the authors wrote.

Thousands of toxins from food packaging found in humans – research

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They then checked the rats’ heart muscle tissue and found it had been damaged. The study did not find a statistical difference in the changes and damage among rats that were exposed to water that had been in contact with plastic for one minute versus five or fifteen.

The study does not make recommendations on how consumers can protect themselves. But public health advocates say to avoid microwaving or adding hot food to plastic containers at home, or cooking anything in plastic. Replacing plastic utensils or packaging at home with glass, wood or stainless steel alternatives is also helpful.

It is more difficult to avoid plastic when getting carryout. One can bring their own glass packaging or transfer food to glass packaging when one gets home.

Source: Eating from plastic takeout containers can increase heart failure risk – study | US news | The Guardian