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Problem with rubber wheels in metros is absolutely atrocious air quality. I avoid them like the plague.
by brnt 1y ago
Problem with rubber wheels in metros is absolutely atrocious air quality. I avoid them like the plague.
- throwaway2037 1y agoHow many rubber wheel metros exist? I only know of a few -- Paris is one, but not all lines. Where do you live such you need to "avoid them like the plague"?
- brnt 1y agoLyon. Its not hard to find out where they are, Michelin is quite proud of them.
- PaulHoule 1y agoMontreal uses rubber tires in the underground. Never bothered me.
- brnt 1y agoFine particulates don't 'bother' you until you have that lung cancer diagnosis.
- motorest 1y ago> Fine particulates don't 'bother' you until you have that lung cancer diagnosis. Care to point out a source that supports a hypothetical link between rubber wheels and lung cancer?
- gsf_emergency 1y agoHypothetical you ask for? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1757501/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1757501/ To preempt accusations that the automotive endproduct isn't represented by this study, I'll concede it's next to impossible to have conclusive studies on specific forms of road pollution, that is, the best one can do is find a link between (rail)cars and cancer but nothing more specific than that :) --Until they replace rubber in wheels with something else, I guess. Meanwhile, feel free to accept the reindustrialization
- shakna 1y agoTires contain carcinogens. That's not purely hypothetical, it has been known for a while. The extent of impact is still being investigated, but we've known there is a carcinogenic link since before 2000. [0] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6947500/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6947500/
- throwaway2037 1y agoAbout OP: I swear, there is a HN "rule": When there is any opportunity to discuss health scare conspiracy theories, someone will pop into the convo (wearing a tin foil hat, naturally) to add their two cents. It is the perfect embodiment of Brandolini's law. > The amount of energy needed to refute bullshit is an order of magnitude bigger than that needed to produce it. As a counterpoint to "avoiding rubber tyred metro lines like the plague": Does this person also avoid all road tunnels or expressways underground? Since there are frequently multiple lanes in each direction, that would mean much more fine rubber particulates from car & truck tyres compared to a metro with much less frequent trains and only one track in each direction.
- andy99 1y agoI wonder if there's every been a study if the air quality in the montreal metro vs comparable cities. Or even within Montreal... does the blue line use tires? (Edit, yes, for some reason I thought one line didn't have them, apparently they all do) I was told the tires are to reduce noise but I wonder if part of it is to handle some of the steeper sections like Vendome up to Villa Maria.
- amiga386 1y agohttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-tyred_metro#List_of_systems https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber-tyred_metro#List_of_sys...
- ahartmetz 1y agoWhat's the problem? Rubber dust? Rubber smell? Maybe even burning rubber smell?
- stephen_g 1y agoAlso you have to replace tyres all the time, steel wheels last longer between services and are reconditioned on a lathe periodically instead of having to be continually replaced. It's one of several reasons why the longer term operating cost is way lower for trams than buses.