Cancer is going backwards: Russia may introduce tire certification
Russia may introduce compulsory certification of car tires. This will make it possible to control the content of dangerous substances in their composition. Experts believe that such certification will allow to protect the Russian market from tires containing a large number of carcinogens and mutagens. Details - in the material "Izvestia".
Not all tires are equally "useful"
Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia has developed a draft government decree providing for the inclusion of car tires in the list of products subject to mandatory certification. The document has been published on the federal portal of draft regulatory legal acts.
Current legislation does not establish restrictions on the content in the tire tread of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are carcinogenic, mutagenic and reproductively toxic substances, the agency notes. The technical regulation "On the safety of wheeled vehicles (TR CU 018/2011)" establishes requirements for product safety, but there are no mandatory requirements for tires in terms of their environmental friendliness in terms of carcinogenic substances, in particular, Bay protons in the tire up to 0.25%, emphasize the authors of the document.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade notes that, according to the testing of samples of tire products, conducted by an independent testing center, the requirements of GOST R 51893-2024 ("Pneumatic tires. General technical safety requirements") do not meet 11% of domestic tires and 40% of imported imported tires. 89% of domestic tires comply with GOST and are carcinogenically safe.
"Given that the products carry an increased risk to the health and life of consumers, it is advisable to introduce confirmation of compliance of the said products with the established requirements in terms of the content in tires of bay protons not more than 0.25% in the form of mandatory certification." At the same time, the characteristics declared by foreign manufacturers often do not correspond to the real ones, according to the explanatory note to the document.
The decision of the State Commission on counteraction to illegal turnover of industrial products approved the inclusion of tires in a single list of products subject to mandatory certification, the authors of the document note.
"The purpose of including pneumatic tires in the unified list of products subject to certification is to introduce restrictions
on the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the tire tread, which are aimed at ensuring the safety and health of Russian citizens and environmental well-being in the country," the accompanying documents to the draft government resolution specify.
The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade is working on establishing mandatory requirements for tire products in terms of their carcinogenic safety, the ministry told Izvestia.
- The introduction of such requirements will ensure the exclusion of access to the territory of our country carcinogenically dangerous tires, as well as will contribute to the reduction of unfair imports and increase production in the country, - emphasized in the press service of the Ministry.
Control issues
Experts interviewed byIzvestia agree that the introduction of certification of tires for the content of hazardous and carcinogenic substances in their composition should help improve the environment and increase the safety of tires for human health. However, they note that there may be difficulties in controlling compliance with the proposed standards.
- As with any technological certification, the proposed initiative is well-intentioned. The question is what will be the effect of this certification and what will be the cost to manufacturers, which will affect the price of tires. It is good that in this case formally cut off low-quality products. But how will control be exercised? After all, this is deep chemistry, - said "Izvestia" expert, tire tester of the publication "Avtorevu" Oleg Rastegaev.
Maxim Kadakov, editor-in-chief of Za Rulem magazine, believes that certification may serve to improve the environmental situation in the country and protect the interests of domestic tire manufacturers.
-It is likely that this is one of the ways to protect our market from low-quality tires with a high content of hazardous substances in their composition, - he explained.
The proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is largely aimed at limiting the expansion of Chinese tires on our market, said "Izvestia" vice-president of the National Automobile Union Anton Shaparin.
- Such tires are inexpensive and are direct competitors of tire models produced in our country. At the same time, it should be understood that the bulk of automobile "rubber" from China comes to the Russian market through the Central Asian countries, which are members of the Customs Union. Accordingly, they will be certified in local testing laboratories, which, as practice shows with regard to imported cars, easily overestimate the ecological class of the car on paper. With a high degree of probability, we can assume that in case of introduction of mandatory certification, these same laboratories will indicate that the tire does not contain any carcinogens at all, and its composition includes only virgin olive oil," Anton Shaparin told Izvestia.
According to the vice-president of NAC, the effect from the introduction of such certification will be noticeable only if normal interaction between the regulatory authorities both within Russia and with colleagues from neighboring countries is established.
Dangerous dust
The main danger for ecology and human health is the fine rubber dust, which is formed when tires rub against asphalt, Valentina Belousova, a chemical technologist and ecologist, told Izvestia.
- It gets into the soil and "hangs" in the air. Aromatic hydrocarbons in its composition, many of which are carcinogens, pose a serious danger to human health, as they can provoke the development of cancer," she said.
The amount of rubber dust emitted by the tire depends largely on the characteristics of the tire itself, says Maxim Kadakov.
- "Oak" model, which practically does not wear, "dust" less than a "soft" tire, which can turn into a "racing slick" for a couple of seasons. Thus, a tire with good traction characteristics may turn out to be less environmentally friendly," he noted.
Domestic manufacturers of automobile tires could not promptly comment on the initiative of the Ministry of Industry and Trade. However, Izvestia's source in a Russian tire manufacturer said that representatives of the tire industry have not yet developed any specific opinion and are discussing the potential and prospects of this proposal. According to him, the formation of a consolidated opinion of the domestic tire industry is expected in January-February 2025.
