Tires Fire Research Papers

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Pages: 3

“Social costs [of tires] are particularly associated with the disposal into the environment where, for example, stockpiled tires can catch fire and burn indefinitely…”(Dower). Tire fires produces a cocktail of toxic chemicals for people, animals and the environment. When they catch fire the tires produce a thick black smoke that is hard for firefighters to put out. The low thermal energy in the rubber makes it almost impossible to tell when the fire is completely put out. Tires can keep internally burning for a long time and ignite again without much to cause it. A notable example of this is the Winchester tire fire that happened in rural Virginia. About 5-7 million tires caught fire and the fire burned from October 1983 to July 1984. It caused a concern for public health. Abandoned tires can also, “provide breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes”(Dower). These diseases include Dengue Fever and Encephalitis (Fiksel). Encephalitis is a virus that causes the brain swelling and fevers. Children are the most vulnerable(Dower). Rodents and other rabid animals can also take residence in these places. One way to fix this is by eliminating these random tire dumps. …show more content…
48 states have policies on taxing to gather funding to maintain the community clear of random tire dumps and requirements on who can handle these tires(Laws and Statutes | Scrap Tires). When these dumps get out of hand the EPA has a program established to address abandoned hazardous waste sites(Superfund Overview). This environmental program is called Superfund. They can conduct immediate removal of the hazardous waste, take action against the guilty party and make sure the cleanup is maintained. This program also educates the community about the dangers they were facing by allowing the waste to remain there. These policies help keep illegal dumping to a minimum and in turn our lives