Tyre research

Leading tyre companies in North America, Japan, Korea and Europe met earlier this year to set a forward-looking agenda for their global research programme dealing with potential environmental and health impacts of their products. At their last meeting in 2005, under the auspices of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the companies funded an initial US$ 1 million independent research programme to examine issues related to materials used in tyre manufacturing and the impact of tyre-wear particles generated during normal product use.

A spokesman for the WBCSD said, “Over the next 12 to 18 months, the companies will work with material suppliers to better understand the current, potential and future risks for chemicals in tyres and perform sample collection and characterisation of tyre-wear particles found in the environment.”