Hitting the car brakes could cause lung damage to motorists and pedestrians, says a new study.
The study, which involved lab tests, found that tiny particles released by brake pads harm lung cells through a chemical process known as oxidative stress.
Researchers discovered that hard braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal braking and even close to a disengaged brake caused potentially dangerous cellular stress.
Mechanics Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser and Peter Gehr from the University of Bern and Michael Riediker from the Institute for Work and Health, Lausanne, worked with a team of researchers to study such effects.
Brake wear contributes up to 20 per cent of total traffic emissions, but the health effects of brake particles remain largely unstudied. We've found that the metals in brake wear particles can damage junctions between cells by a mechanism involving oxidative stress (OS). OS indicates the steady-state level of oxidative damage in a cell, tissue, or organ, caused by the reactive oxygen.
The analysis revealed that brake wear particles contain substantial quantity of iron, copper and organic carbon.
Exposure to these pollutants caused increased signs of oxidative pressure and inflammation in the cells and hard braking caused most exposure. Interesting, some exposure still arose even when the brakes were not being applied, most probably due to residual brake particles coming off the turning axle and the braking system.
This study is published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.
The study, which involved lab tests, found that tiny particles released by brake pads harm lung cells through a chemical process known as oxidative stress.
Researchers discovered that hard braking, as in an emergency stop, caused the most damage, but normal braking and even close to a disengaged brake caused potentially dangerous cellular stress.
Mechanics Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser and Peter Gehr from the University of Bern and Michael Riediker from the Institute for Work and Health, Lausanne, worked with a team of researchers to study such effects.
Brake wear contributes up to 20 per cent of total traffic emissions, but the health effects of brake particles remain largely unstudied. We've found that the metals in brake wear particles can damage junctions between cells by a mechanism involving oxidative stress (OS). OS indicates the steady-state level of oxidative damage in a cell, tissue, or organ, caused by the reactive oxygen.
The analysis revealed that brake wear particles contain substantial quantity of iron, copper and organic carbon.
Exposure to these pollutants caused increased signs of oxidative pressure and inflammation in the cells and hard braking caused most exposure. Interesting, some exposure still arose even when the brakes were not being applied, most probably due to residual brake particles coming off the turning axle and the braking system.
This study is published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology.
Labels: Brake-Pads, Braking-System, Car-Brakes
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