05 Jan 2023 — Tire wear from cars may “end up on our plate” and have the potential to toxify some plants we consume, warn environmental geoscientists from the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Sciences (CMESS) at the University of Vienna, Austria. The scientists found that lettuce absorbed all the compounds studied, with some classified as highly toxic.
The toxins may be carried with the wind, sewage sludge and wastewater, which brings the particles from the road directly into agriculture and ends up in the food we eat, according to the lab study published in Environmental Science and Technology.