Live and Let Die? Life Cycle Human Health Impacts from the Use of Tire Studs
Journal article, 2018

Studded tires are used in a number of countries during winter in order to prevent accidents. The use of tire studs is controversial and debated because of human health impacts from increased road particle emissions. The aims of this study are to assess whether the use of tire studs in a Scandinavian studded passenger car actually avoids or causes health impacts from a broader life cycle perspective, and to assess the distribution of these impacts over the life cycle. Life cycle assessment is applied and the disability-adjusted life years indicator is used to quantify the following five types of health impacts: (1) impacts saved in the use phase, (2) particle emissions in the use phase, (3) production system emissions, (4) occupational accidents in the production system, and (5) conflict casualties from revenues of cobalt mining. The results show that the health benefits in the use phase in general are outweighed by the negative impacts during the life cycle. The largest contribution to these negative human health impacts are from use phase particle emissions (67–77%) and occupational accidents during artisanal cobalt mining (8–18%). About 23–33% of the negative impacts occur outside Scandinavia, where the benefits occur. The results inform the current debate and highlight the need for research on alternatives to tire studs with a positive net health balance.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

studded tires

DALY

DRC

passenger car

disability-adjusted life years

LCA

life cycle assessment

Author

Anna Furberg

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

Rickard Arvidsson

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

Sverker Molander

Chalmers, Technology Management and Economics, Environmental Systems Analysis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

1661-7827 (ISSN) 1660-4601 (eISSN)

Vol. 15 8 1774

Mistra Environmental Nanosafety

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra), 2014-01-01 -- 2018-01-01.

Driving Forces

Sustainable development

Subject Categories

Environmental Sciences

Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology

DOI

10.3390/ijerph15081774

More information

Latest update

8/30/2018