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In New York City, congestion pricing leads to marked drop in pollution

(e360.yale.edu)
473 points Brajeshwar | 3 comments | 10 Dec 25 15:25 UTC | HN request time: 0.608s | source
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lkbm ◴[10 Dec 25 15:34 UTC] No.46218856[source]▶
> Particulates issued from tailpipes can aggravate asthma and heart disease and increase the risk of lung cancer and heart attack. Globally, they are a leading risk factor for premature death.

Minor nitpick, but tailpipes aren't the primary source of emissions. The study is about PM2.5[0]. which will chiefly be tires and brake pads. Modern gasoline engines are relatively clean, outside of CO2, though diesel engines spit out a bunch of bad stuff.

[0] https://www.nature.com/articles/s44407-025-00037-2

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throwawaypath ◴[10 Dec 25 15:39 UTC] No.46218933[source]▶
How do EVs fare in this regard? Brakes are used significantly less, but the additional weight from the batteries chews through tires faster.
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1. PunchyHamster ◴[10 Dec 25 16:26 UTC] No.46219731[source]▶
I'd gonna guess "worse"

Brake dust is mostly some iron, carbon, silica. Not great to ingest but very much recyclable by the environment, unlike rubber.

And possibly much easier to greatly reduce (just build some shielding around the brake to catch most of the dust) than the tyre

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2. coryrc ◴[10 Dec 25 17:26 UTC] No.46220573[source]▶
Unfortunately it's also copper and asbestos :(. (Yes, they're banned, but nobody is checking aftermarket brake pads...)

But tire dust is definitely now the worst of the two, by far. 6-PPD alone.

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3. potato3732842 ◴[11 Dec 25 14:37 UTC] No.46231905[source]▶
>Yes, they're banned, but nobody is checking aftermarket brake pads..

On one hand you've got the people who insisted on regulating all of our manufacturing out of the country on environmental and safety grounds. On the other hand you've got the people who want to band asbestos and lead and all manner of other dangerous chemicals in consumer products. Both these people are dressed like Spiderman and they're pointing at each other. <facepalm>