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BY JASON LOH AND
JENNIFER LEY HO YING
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PARTICULATE matter , also known as particle pollution , refers to solid particles and droplets in the air , such as dust , dirt , and even soot (“ Particulate Matter Basics ”, United States Environmental Protection Agency , 2022 ). In the short-term , exposure to particulate matter results in eye , nose , and throat irritation , coughing , and shortness of breath . In the long term , it ’ s been linked to premature deaths in people with heart or lung disease , irregular heartbeat , and decreased lung function (“ Health and Environmental Effects of Particulate Matter ’’, United States Environmental Protection Agency , 2022 ).
In Malaysia , an estimated 32,000 people die as a result of ambient air pollution or outdoor air pollution every year (“ The Health & Economic Impacts of Ambient Air Quality in Malaysia ”, Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air , 2022 ). Malaysia ’ s daily air quality index ( AQI ) averaged 66 in 2021 , with particulate matter concentrations 3.9 times the WHO recommendation (“ Air quality in Malaysia ”, IQAir , 2023 ).
Contrastingly , on Jan 26 , 2023 , Sabah had an AQI of 24 , whilst Selangor ’ s was 104 , being the most air-polluted state of Malaysia .
With traffic returning to pre-pandemic levels as the streets become flooded with vehicles , the air quality is about to get drastically poorer , and it ’ s from an object even more widespread than cars : tyres . As
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Figure 1 :
the number of vehicles officially outnumbers people in Malaysia at 33.3 million registered cars , the number of tyres is , at the very least , quadrupled that amount .
Though plenty of policy has focused on carbon emissions from car exhausts , the everyday wear and tear of running tyres also pose a severe threat to environmental and public health .
SYNTHETIC RUBBER
New tyres produce around 73 milligrammes of particles per kilometre of driving , 16 times more than the legal limit for exhaust at 4.5 . Currently , there ’ re no legal limits or regulations on particulate matter emissions by tyres in Malaysia .
Furthermore , as the particulate matter produced by tyres are down to 23 nanometres in size ( 0.023 micrometres or microns ), they ’ re not only invisible to the naked eye but also challenging to measure and are not currently regulated even in the US or EU (“ Car tyres produce vastly more particle pollution than exhausts , tests show ”, The Guardian , June 3 , 2022 ).
Worryingly , a synthetic rubber used to make tyres is derived from petroleum
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SOURCE : EMISSIONS ANALYTICS
containing hundreds of potentially carcinogenic chemicals (“ Petroleum Carcinogenicity and Aerodigestive Tract : In Context of Developing Nations ”, Khanna S ., Cureus , Vol . 9 , Issue 4 , 2017 ).
The critical carcinogen found in petroleum-based products are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ( PAHs ) – detected in the atmosphere , precipitation ( i . e ., the formation of liquid or frozen water ), urban surface dust , sediment , and soil .
Nanometres of 23 – the size of the particulate matter produced from the wear and tear of tyres on the road – can penetrate not only deep into the lungs and the bloodstream but also our organs .
It poses a significant threat to our health as we go about our everyday lives , unknowingly breathing nano-sized toxins into our bodies .
These particulates don ’ t just remain in the air .
As the wind carries these particles , they seep into our rivers , rain , agricultural soils , and food . It is the concept of “ runoff pollution ”, where contaminants get picked up by rainwater and consequently pollute the water supply (“ Point
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