from Hacker News

Road dust and its effect on human health: a literature review (2018)

by WebbWeaver on 7/25/22, 1:19 PM with 149 comments

• by photochemsyn on 7/25/22, 3:03 PM

  Looks like the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the worst component in the particulates by several measures:

  > "Yu et al. [14] found that PAH-contaminated road dust in urban areas was associated with an elevated risk of cancer. They determined that the source of PAHs was a combination of biofuel and coal combustion and traffic engine emissions. Soltani et al. [12] reported high PAH concentrations in road dust near high-traffic roads. They concluded that both adults and children are vulnerable to the potential carcinogenic risk of road dust. In a meta-analysis, evidence was found of an association between PAHs and lung cancer [55]. Ramesh et al. [56] found PAHs to be related to colon cancer and breast cancer in humans, and to show high mutagenicity in laboratory animals."

  By far the largest source of PAHs is diesel fuel combustion, meaning the trucking industry (which should be the primary target for replacement by EVs). See:

  "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Flames, in Diesel Fuels, and in Diesel Emissions" (2005), NIST, @ sci-hub.se

  > "Diesel fuels are composed of thousands of hydrocarbon species mainly including straight-chain paraffins, naphthenes, monocyclic and polycyclic aromatic species, most with carbon numbers from 10 to 22, and some sulfur-bearing compounds. The actual distribution of species among these classes depends strongly on the refining process that is controlled in part by regional environmental regulations. The PAH species in diesel fuels represent about 1 to 3% by mass of the total hydrocarbon content. Of the numerous compounds present in diesel fuels only the PAH species are considered herein because of their direct participation in particle formation and their widely documented adverse health effects."

• by hinkley on 7/25/22, 3:41 PM

  For any gardeners reading:

  The most recent wisdom on lead and other urban contaminants is that white vinegar removes as much and in some cases more surface contamination than so-called vegetable soap. Particularly in the case of lead which is soluble in acids. Additionally most lead in leafy greens are surface contamination, not bioaccumulation as widely reported.

  White vinegar is excessively cheap, even in food grade forms, and is good for laundry as well (especially hard water, or in the PNW where mildew on clothes is a struggle). You can find half gallons for under $4.

• by Panther34543 on 7/25/22, 5:52 PM

  I moved to NYC earlier this year, and particulate matter from roads and cars was a serious concern.

  I did significant research into relative pollutants and health outcomes in NYC, and found almost zero correlation. Lung cancer was a particular concern, but it seems occurrences aren't higher in the city by any statistically significant amount. I found that to be strange; cars are everywhere in the city and most individuals live within a dozen meters of a heavily trafficked road.

  If anyone has competing evidence, I'd love to read it.

• by edtechdev on 7/25/22, 4:16 PM

  Chemicals from tires are killing off fish, too: https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/pressroom/presspacs/2022/...

• by this15testing on 7/25/22, 3:45 PM

  what a surprise, cars continue to sacrifice everything for individual convenience

• by Decabytes on 7/25/22, 6:12 PM

  From what I’ve learned about masks and air quality these past couple years, I feel like we should always be wearing a mask for a lot more things than are common. Like yard work and when any sort of dust is involved

• by HPsquared on 7/25/22, 4:38 PM

  I wonder how much this could be reduced by cleaning the road surface such that there is less dust to kick up? Say, pressure washing / brushing / vacuuming the surface. There are already automated street sweepers, could these reduce the amount of dust kicked up by cars?

• by MengerSponge on 7/25/22, 4:38 PM

  The Idle [1] featured on Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, and I've used it ever since to absolutely horrify toxicologists.

  [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Idle

• by ge96 on 7/25/22, 3:37 PM

  Cody's Lab: it's free palladium

• by ParksNet on 7/25/22, 2:07 PM

  Fortunately all of this is eliminated with EVs: much less brake dust (regenerative braking), no combustion, no catalytic converters, no oil leaks.

  All that's left is tire wear, potentially a little higher due to increased typical weight of EVs and faster acceleration.

• by bjourne on 7/25/22, 7:35 PM

  It's apparent that almost no one commenting bothered to read the article because it found no evidence linking road dust to long-term adverse health affects.

• by Sporktacular on 7/25/22, 5:01 PM

  This today on the effect of tyre dust specifically on animals: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jul/25/tyre-dus...

• by cjameskeller on 7/25/22, 7:08 PM

  As someone who lives in a region with gravel/"dirt" roads, I often wonder how they compare to paved roads in terms of overall effect (possibly more fuel usage, but not, itself, made from hydrocarbons; fuel usage associated with maintenance, etc.) and what the relative health effect of the rock-dust is compared with the tar-dust/gases...