Trends in the management of waste tyres and recent experimental approaches in the analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from rubber crumbs

Tests of rubber granules used as artificial turf for football fields in terms of toxicity to human health and the environment

“…The assessment of recycled SBR and EPDM rubber granules, carried out as part of the study, showed that they contain harmful to human health PAHs in amounts exceeding the permissible limits. Extender oils and black carbon used in the manufacture of tires can be the source of PAHs in SBR granules 51 – 54 . This state of affairs is confirmed by the results of research conducted by other global research units and the new limitation in this regard introduced by the European Commission in July 2021, in the REACH Regulation.…”

Environmental Consequences of Rubber Crumb Application: Soil and Water Pollution

“…In this regard, the end-of-life tires (ELTs) pose a serious environmental burden that should be mitigated by suitable reuse strategies leading to the mitigation of side effects accompanied by ELTs landfilling, such as the risk of fires [ 2 ]. A current prevailing valorization of ELTs mostly lies in combustion in cement kilns as coal replacement or pyrolysis for energy recovery [ 3 , 4 ]. In the past, ELTs have been considered as source material for artificial reefs, but this option was rejected due to the destruction of marine life as a result of tires decomposition [ 5 ].…”

“…In addition to the above-mentioned recycling options, the utilization of waste crushed rubber crumbs for both outdoor and indoor playground surfaces, sports pitches, athletic tracks, and synthetic turf infill became a purposeful method to reuse ELTs in recent years [ 4 , 10 ]. These surfaces are popular, particularly for easy maintenance, durability, suitability for use as impact surfaces, and coloring options.…”

“…Notwithstanding, despite many desired properties, the content of harmful and potentially harmful substances has begun to raise concerns among many scientists about the safety of the use of these materials on a wider scale [ 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Namely, the used stabilizers, process oils, accelerators, activators, pigments, fillers, and flame retardants may pose a risk for human health according to recent knowledge [ 4 ]. Major concerns are related particularly to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and heavy metals [ 5 , 15 , 16 , 17 ].…”

“…For comparison, the other rubber products that may come into direct contact with human skin should contain less than 1 mg·kg −1 or even 0.5 mg·kg −1 in the case of toys. At this point, under the cooperation of the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment of the Netherlands (RIVM) and ECHA, an amendment to this standard is being prepared, limiting the combined concentration for the above-mentioned PAHs to 20 mg·kg −1 [ 4 ].…”