Electric cars release MORE toxic emissions than gas-powered vehicles and are worse for the environment, resurfaced study warns

According to a recently surfaced report, electric vehicles can cause more pollution than gas-powered vehicles.

The study, which was published in 2022 but has returned to circulation after being quoted in a WSJ op-edResearch has shown that brakes and tires release 1,850 times more particles than modern exhaust pipes fitted with filters that reduce emissions.

It found that electric vehicles are on average 30 percent heavier than gas-powered vehicles, wearing out brakes and tire treads faster than standard cars and releasing small, often toxic particles into the atmosphere.

EV batteries weigh approximately 1,000 pounds and can result in tire emissions nearly 400 times more than tailpipe emissions.

Particulate pollution can increase health problems, including heart disease, asthma and lung disease, and in extreme cases can lead to hospital admissions, cancer and premature death.

It comes as California works to impose a complete ban on all gasoline vehicles by 2035.

New gasoline-powered vehicles do not emit the same amount of emissions as older vehicles; they emit only one percent of all particulate matter (air pollution) in California, with the majority of emissions coming from older vehicles.

New gasoline cars are made to be “cleaner,” updating the equipment of their combustion engines with particulate filters that reduce emissions to less than 1/1000th of a gram per mile.

The electric vehicles have become heavier thanks to their lithium-ion batteries, which causes the tire tread to wear out faster, ultimately causing more emissions.

The study, conducted by the Emissions Analytics firm, said the main difference between tailpipe and tire emissions is that the majority of particulate emissions released from the tire go directly into soil and water, while exhaust fumes negatively affect air quality.

The effects of tire composition come down to the materials the tire is made of, the study reports.

Light duty tires are typically made of synthetic rubber developed using crude oil, natural rubber, with fillers and additives added, some of which are recognized carcinogens.

Emissions Analytics tested tire wear on both EV and gasoline vehicles after driving at least 1,000 miles.

The researchers used a sampling system to collect particles directly behind each tire and then measured the size of the particles emitted by the tread.

It turned out that the greater the mass and weight of the vehicle, the faster the emissions of soot particles are released due to the greater torque between the tires and the road.

A special one Report 2020 of the company Emissions Analytics said tires are likely to be a major problem in the coming years as “consumers move to larger and heavier cars.”

“Research shows that they contribute to marine pollution by microplastics, but also to air pollution by finer particles,” the report continues.

The average Hyundai electric vehicle weighs more than 3,700 pounds, compared to the gas alternative, which weighs 3,000 pounds.

Meanwhile, Volvo’s EV weighs 4,662 pounds, while its gas vehicle weighs 3,726 pounds, but the Ford F150 EV truck comes in at a whopping 6,000 pounds, 2,000 pounds more than the gas option.

California claims that banning gas-powered vehicles would protect public health from airborne pollutants such as dust, dirt and grime, and calls EVs “zero-emission vehicles,” but the heavier weight drastically affects how quickly the tread of the tires wear out.

That of the state anyway proposalsubmitted by the Air Resources Board, suggested that the tire treads of electric cars and gasoline vehicles wear out at the same rate, which was criticized by the public, but the state said that “it would be speculative to predict” that electric cars would not be less would weigh. the future.

It added that the weight of future EV models could be “compensated” with “weight reduction in other components or the bodywork” – although the agency did not provide examples of how the weight would be reduced.

California has claimed that electric cars produce no emissions because they have no exhaust, but that is reportedly misleading because the significant amount of electricity used to power the cars creates additional particulate pollution.

“Coal is often the critical factor,” says Jeremy Michalek, professor of engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. The New York Times.

“If you have electric cars in Pittsburgh that plug in at night and cause nearby coal-fired power plants to burn more coal to charge them, then the climate benefits won’t be as great and you could actually get more air pollution. ‘

Additionally, lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles are made from materials such as cobalt and lithium, which have been linked to environmental problems.

Mining cobalt releases toxic chemicals and gases that end up in the environment. When extracting metals from the ore, sulfur oxide is released and pollutes the air.

Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) updated the report national air quality standards with a new rule to reduce the amount of air pollution.

“Today’s action is a critical step forward that will better protect workers, families and communities from the dangerous and costly consequences of particulate matter pollution,” said EPA Administrator Michael Regan.

‘The science is clear: soot pollution is one of the most dangerous forms of air pollution and is linked to a range of serious and potentially fatal diseases, including asthma and heart attacks.’

EVs are beneficial to the environment because they have no tailpipe emissions and therefore produce fewer greenhouse gases than the average gas-powered car.

According to the EPAOver the life of an EV, the total greenhouse gas emissions associated with manufacturing, charging and operating the vehicle are typically lower than those of a standard vehicle.