{"id":862124,"date":"2025-07-12T23:12:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-13T04:12:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/12\/your-climbing-shoes-are-emitting-toxic-chemicals-study-warns\/"},"modified":"2025-07-12T23:12:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-13T04:12:21","slug":"your-climbing-shoes-are-emitting-toxic-chemicals-study-warns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/12\/your-climbing-shoes-are-emitting-toxic-chemicals-study-warns\/","title":{"rendered":"Your Climbing Shoes Are Emitting Toxic Chemicals, Study Warns"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Indoor<\/a>
Indoor climbing offers physical benefits, but new research reveals a hidden health risk: chemical-laden rubber from climbing shoes may pollute gym air. A recent study discovered that this rubber abrasion releases airborne pollutants, some at levels comparable to traffic-heavy urban streets.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Concentrations as high as those found near a busy road highlight the critical need for effective solutions.<\/h3>\n

Indoor climbing is often viewed as a healthy physical activity, but recent research reveals a hidden risk. A study conducted by scientists from the University of Vienna and EPFL Lausanne has found that climbing shoes release potentially harmful chemicals into the air through the abrasion of their rubber soles.<\/p>\n

These substances, which include compounds also found in car tires, can become airborne in indoor bouldering gyms and be inhaled by climbers. In some cases, the concentration of these chemicals was even higher than levels typically measured on busy city streets. The findings were published in Environmental Science & Technology Air<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Bouldering gyms are often characterized by a distinct set of smells: sweat, chalk, and the faint scent of rubber. Researchers led by environmental scientist Thilo Hofmann at the University of Vienna have now confirmed that the rubber particles contributing to this smell are more than just a sensory nuisance, they pose a health concern.<\/p>\n

The team discovered that the rubber used in climbing shoes contains various chemical additives, some of which are suspected to have negative effects on human health and the environment. As the soles wear down during use, these substances are released into the air, where they can be inhaled by athletes during intense physical activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe soles of climbing shoes are high performance products, just like car tires,\u201d explains Anya Sherman, first author of the study and an environmental scientist at the Centre for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna. Additives are specific chemicals that make these materials more resilient and durable; they are essential for their function.<\/p>\n

\"Anya<\/a>
Anya Sherman uses an impinger (particle measuring device) to collect particulate matter from the air in bouldering gyms in Vienna. Credit: Aaron Kintzi\/CeMESS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Climbing Meets Chemistry<\/h4>\n

Sherman enjoys climbing herself \u2013 as a balance to her work in the lab and on the computer. At a conference, she met Thibault Masset from the \u00c9cole Polytechnique F\u00e9d\u00e9rale de Lausanne (EPFL), who researches similar topics and also enjoys climbing. The two researchers and equal first authors of the study came up with the idea of testing the rubber from their own climbing shoes using the same scientific methods they use to analyze car tires.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were familiar with the black residue on the holds in climbing gyms, the abrasion from the soles of our shoes. Climbers wipe it off to get a better grip, and it gets kicked up into the air,\u201d adds Sherman.<\/p>\n

Equipped with an impinger, a particle-measuring device that mimics the human respiratory tract, Sherman, in collaboration with Professor Lea Ann Daily\u2019s research group, collected air samples in five bouldering gyms in Vienna. The impinger draws in air at a rate of 60 liters per minute and separates particles in the same way as they would enter the human lungs. Other dust samples for the study were collected in collaboration with the EPFL Lausanne from bouldering gyms in France, Spain, and Switzerland.<\/p>\n

\"Rock<\/a>
The colorful holds in climbing gyms collect rubber abrasion from the soles, which also gets into the air. Credit: Aaron Kintzi\/CeMESS<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cAir pollution in the bouldering gyms was higher than we expected,\u201d says corresponding author Thilo Hofmann. What was striking was that the concentration of rubber additives was particularly high where many people were climbing in a confined space. Hofmann concludes: \u201cThe levels we measured are among the highest ever documented worldwide, comparable to multi-lane roads in megacities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tire Chemicals on Your Feet<\/h4>\n

In 30 pairs of shoes tested, the team found some of the same pollutants as in car tires: among the 15 rubber additives found was 6PPD, a rubber stabilizer whose transformation product has been linked to salmon kills in rivers.<\/p>\n

What this means for human health is still unclear. But Hofmann stresses: \u201cThese substances do not belong in the air we breathe. It makes sense to act before we know all the details about the risks, especially with regard to sensitive groups such as children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sherman also points out that the operators of the studied bouldering gyms were very cooperative and showed a high level of interest in improving the air quality in their gyms. \u201cThis constructive cooperation should lead to the creation of the healthiest possible climbing hall environment, for example, through better ventilation, cleaning, avoiding peak times, and designing climbing shoes with fewer additives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is essential to switch to sole materials with fewer harmful substances,\u201d says Hofmann. He says manufacturers are currently not sufficiently aware of the problem. The rubber they buy for their soles contains a cocktail of undesirable chemicals. More research is needed to understand how these substances affect the human body. Anya Sherman remains motivated: \u201cI will continue to climb, and I am confident that our research will contribute to better conditions in climbing gyms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reference: \u201cThe Invisible Footprint of Climbing Shoes: High Exposure to Rubber Additives in Indoor Facilities\u201d by Anya Sherman, Thibault Masset, Lukas Wimmer, Leah K. Maruschka, Lea Ann Dailey, Thorsten H\u00fcffer, Florian Breider and Thilo Hofmann, 24 April 2025, ACS ES&T Air<\/i>.
\nDOI: 10.1021\/acsestair.5c00017<\/a><\/p>\n

Never miss a breakthrough: Join the SciTechDaily newsletter.<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\t\t\t University of Vienna
Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Indoor climbing offers physical benefits, but new research reveals a hidden health risk: chemical-laden rubber from climbing shoes may pollute gym air. A recent study discovered that this rubber abrasion releases airborne pollutants, some at levels comparable to traffic-heavy urban streets. Concentrations as high as those found near a busy road highlight the critical need<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":862125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42118,23168],"tags":[9099,13151],"class_list":{"0":"post-862124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-climbing","8":"category-shoes","9":"tag-climbing","10":"tag-shoes"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862124\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}