Exposure to air pollution is associated with around seven million premature deaths per year across the world. When we think of urban air pollution, diesel exhaust emissions are often portrayed as a key culprit – rightly so, given previous research findings. However, our latest research shows that dust from brake pads could be more harmful to our lungs.
Dust produced by wear of the road, tyres, and brakes, known as “non-exhaust emissions”, are now the major type of emissions from road transport, surpassing exhaust emissions across many European countries. Of these, brake dust is often the main contributor, but it’s not yet subject to regulation. There is much less known about the potential health effects of brake dust compared to diesel exhaust dust.
