While environmental controversy surrounding use of this fuel is wide and varied, the greatest supported evidence of toxicity comes from the presence of dioxins and furans in the flue gases.  Zinc has also been found to dissolve into storm water, from shredded rubber, at acutely toxic levels for aquatic life and plants.
A study of dioxin and furan content of stack gasses at a variety of cement mills, paper mills, boilers, and power plants conducted in the 1990s shows a wide and inconsistent variation in dioxin and furan output when fueled partially by TDF as compared to the same facilities powered by only coal. Some facilities added as little as 4% TDF and experienced as much as a 4,140% increase in dioxin and furan emissions. Other facilities added as much as 30% TDF and experienced dioxin and furan emissions increases of only as much as 58%. Still other facilities used as much as 8% TDF and experienced a decrease of as much as 83% of dioxin and furan emissions. One facility conducted four tests with two tests resulting in decreased emissions and two resulting in increased emissions. Another facility also conducted four tests and had widely varying increases in emissions.
A 2004 study showed that huge polyaromatic emissions are generated from combustion of tire rubber, at a minimum, 2 orders of magnitude higher than coal alone. The study concludes with, "atmospheric contamination dramatically increases when tire rubber is used as the fuel. Other different combustion variables compared to the ones used for coal combustion should be used to avoid atmospheric contamination by toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic pollutants, as well as hot-gas cleaning systems and COx capture systems."