Electric vehicles may release more pollution than petrol-powered vehicles, according to a report that has recently resurfaced.
The study, which was published in 2022 but has begun circulating again after being cited in a WSJ op-ed, found that brakes and tyres release 1,850 times more particulate matter compared to modern exhaust pipes which have filters that reduce emissions.
It found that EVs are 30 percent heavier on average than petrol-powered vehicles, which causes the brakes and tyre treads to wear out faster than standard cars and releases tiny, often toxic particles into the atmosphere. 
Hesham Rakha, a professor at Virginia Tech told Dailymail.com that the study is only ‘partially correct’ because even though EVs are heavier, their tyres will emit more microplastics into the air, but this could also be true for sedans versus SUVs.
Rakha and his team at Virginia Tech are in the process of conducting field tests to determine how much microplastics are emitting from EV and petrol cars by using traffic simulators that will mimic an urban setting.
