Toxic Tire Dust

Toxic Tire Dust Causes Global Drying

www.toxictiredust.com

 

The silent and invisible scourge of Toxic Tire Dust (TTD) has been relentlessly destroying the environment in this country. Despite the widespread publication of this threat at www.toxictiredust.com, and other websites referenced below the world has been distracted by the false problem of global warming/climate change/inconvenient truth. Now that this threat has been shown to be untrue, we are hoping that Toxic Tire Dust will receive the attention it requires to save our planet from this very real threat.

 

Every hour in the United States (and all developed countries around the globe) millions of tons of toxic tire dust are deposited into the soil along our highways. As tires spin along the abrasive pavement, microscopic particles of rubber and toxic additives are abraded away and float down into the medians and ditches. This dust seeps into the soil and causes legions of environmental problems. Dr. Alex Latexia, professor emeritus at the University of Austin, has studied this growing problem for over 17 years. He cites the following damages:

 

1) Plant photosynthesis is impaired by the presence of microscopic polymer particles inside the plant vesicles. This dramatically reduces the beneficial uptake of carbon dioxide by all plants within 1,000 meters of the highway with a consequent reduction in emissions of oxygen.

 

2) The slippery rubber particles damage the cohesiveness of the soil particles, resulting in massive erosions and frequent mudslides along the highways in California and other mountainous regions.

 

3) Wildflowers that used to carpet the roadsides (such as Texas bluebonnets) are almost all gone, suffocating from the ever increasing deposits of TTD.

 

4) Toxic Tire Dust that floats into waterways causes two problems: a) a thin film of TTD blocks the UV rays that kill dangerous bacteria and viruses in our rivers, lakes and streams resulting is a dramatic increase in gastrointestinal infections for families that live along lakes and streams; and b) as the TTD eventually sinks to the bottom of the waterway it reacts with the old imbedded  and stable dioxin deposits in sediments making them very mobile with fish populations such as catfish showing dramatic increases in deadly dioxin levels.

 

5) But, by far, the most compelling damage comes when the TTD particles reach the Earths salt water oceans where the TTD particles react with the sodium chloride in the water and produce a film that makes the water surface evaporate at a rate 100 to 1000 times faster than normal. When the TTD laden water vapor reaches the ozone layer it accelerates with such speed that it is ejected into orbit around the earth. Dr. Latexia's calculations show that in less than 249.8 years all the oceans water will have been transported into outerspace.

 

What is the solution? Our government must expose the predatory profits of the tire companies that use the cheapest, and most toxic, rubber compounds in their tires. This is especially prevalent for imported tires from Asia countries. The government must also allocate unprecedented funds for research into alternative methods of transportation that eliminate TTD. Rail is an ideal alternative with the steel wheels producing harmless rust as a byproduct. A small company in Clutation, Texas has invented a tire made from recycled aluminum cans that offers almost all the comforts of toxic rubber tires. But this company's effort to market its breakthrough product have been targeted by abusive lawsuits from the big tire companies and auto manufacturers.

 

Please email your comments to ttd@toxictiredust.com. Soon we will be opening our blog, twitter, and facebook pages. Now that global warming is over, we look forward to your support in the battle against TTD.



Reference Links for more information:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2661/when-the-rubber-meets-the-road-where-does-it-go
http://www.ejnet.org/rachel/rehw439.htm
http://www.retread.org/QA/index.cfm?fuseaction=Answer&ID=11&nonav=1
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/199924/000019992499A0938036.php

All Photographs and text - Copyright 2010.
Alexander DuBois, P.E.
ToxicTireDust.com
1001 Loop 610 South
Austin, Texas 78633