Pollution from tyre wear on UK roads needs to be taken seriously - Barry Sheerman

When people think of pollution from vehicles, they imagine a rusty tailpipe, emitting polluting, poisonous, smoke from its noisy engine but this highlights only part of the problem. Through our working parties, the Westminster Commission for Road Air Quality learnt that the average emissions from tyre wear is over five times higher than the legal limit for tailpipe pollution.

Air pollution from tyres is a serious, dangerous and unknown issue. The Government should back my Bill that would protect the health and wellbeing of millions of people.

My Tyre Pollution Bill would set strict legal standards for the quantity of toxic chemicals that can be used in tyres. Many tyres are manufactured using up to 70 chemical compounds, some linked to cancer, with 250 types of tyres containing chemicals derived from crude oil.

It’s not just people who suffer from the impact of these dangerous chemicals. Indeed, the Government has commissioned their own research that shows 100 million square metres of the UK’s river network is at risk of contamination by toxic particles. Whereas sewage overflow into waterways is the major news focus at present, I was shocked to learn of the impact that tyres have on our precious natural environment.

This urgent yet little known environmental issue requires both public attention and new legislation.

By setting standards for the type of chemicals that can be used in manufacturing and by limiting the particularly dangerous types of carcinogenic chemicals, we would take a big step to protecting the health and wellbeing of people, as well as that of our environment.

Experts from Emissions Analytics believe that a significant difference could be made by eliminating the very worst tyres from the road. If we could get rid of even half of the worst tyres and bring them in line with the best, we could make a significant impact for the better. This is what my Bill seeks to achieve. It would set the regulatory framework for ensuring tyres meet the quality standard that ensure there is minimal threat to our health and environment.

The Government’s response to my written questions is that the development of regulations to limit emissions from tyres “depends on the development of an internationally recognised test procedure”, which they argue is being examined by the United Nations.

For a Government that preaches the gospel of ‘take back control’, this response fails to match the urgency of the issue. We can and should take urgent action now, through Parliament, to limit the toxic chemicals used in UK tyre manufacturing.

The legislation is on the table, and I am calling on the Government to take the steps necessary to protect lives in this country. My Bill would put an end to this and ensure all people enjoy their inalienable right to clean air and an unpolluted environment.

Barry Sheerman is the Labour (Co-op) MP for Huddersfield.