Do chemicals leak from old tyres and give you cancer if you grow things in them?

Question

Do chemicals leak from old tyres and give you cancer if you grow things in them?

Answer 1

Are you growing vegetables in old tires? Rubber is the main raw material used in manufacturing tires, and both natural and synthetic rubber are used. Natural rubber is found as a milky liquid in the bark of the rubber tree. Synthetic rubber is produced from the polymers found in crude oil.

The other primary ingredient in tire rubber is carbon black. Carbon black is a fine, soft powder created when crude oil or natural gas is burned with a limited amount of oxygen, causing incomplete combustion and creating a large amount of fine soot.

Sulfur and other chemicals are also used in tires. Specific chemicals, when mixed with rubber and then heated, produce specific tire characteristics such as high friction (but low mileage) for a racing tire or high mileage (but lower friction) for a passenger car tire. Some chemicals keep the rubber flexible while it is being shaped into a tire while other chemicals protect the rubber from the ultraviolet radiation in sunshine.

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) is a term used to describe a large family of several hundred chemical compounds that originally come from crude oil. Crude oil, as I said, is used to make petroleum products (such as tires), which can contaminate the environment.

Some of the TPH compounds can affect your central nervous system. One compound can cause headaches and dizziness at high levels in the air. Another compound can cause a nerve disorder called "peripheral neuropathy," consisting of numbness in the feet and legs. Other TPH compounds can cause effects on the blood, immune system, lungs, skin, and eyes.

Animal studies have shown effects on the lungs, central nervous system, liver, and kidney from exposure to TPH compounds. Some TPH compounds have also been shown to affect reproduction and the developing fetus in animals. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that one TPH compound (benzene) is carcinogenic to humans. IARC has determined that other TPH compounds (benzo[a]pyrene and gasoline) are probably and possibly carcinogenic to humans.

That said, as a discarded tire deteriorates, a small amount of these above products/chemicals can leech into the soil over time, and remain there for many, many years to come. If you are concerned about such petroleum products causing cancer, or any other health risk, DON'T use the tires for any edible plants.

Answer 2

You've got to QUIT reading c**p you're seeing on the internet.  *laughter*

They're fine.  They'll become shoddy-looking as they age.  THAT'S all.