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Environmental assessment of the impact of tire and road wear particles on the waters of the Arctic Ocean seas
Summary
Scientists found tiny bits of worn-down tire rubber in the remote waters of the Arctic Ocean—far from where most cars drive. These particles are similar in size to microplastics (which have raised health concerns as they work their way into our food and water), but they're chemically different and contain materials considered harmful to the environment. This matters because it shows tire pollution can travel to even the most untouched parts of the planet, adding another type of contaminant we need to understand and track as it potentially makes its way into marine food chains—and eventually, our own.
Relevance. During the operation of tires, tire and road wear particles are formed. The environmental assessment of their impact on the waters of the Arctic Ocean seas has not been sufficiently studied. Aim. To assess the environmental impact of tire and road wear particles on the waters of the Arctic Ocean marginal seas. Methods. To identify tire and road wear particles, an IRTracer-100 FT-IR spectrometer (Shimadzu, Japan) with an attenuated total internal reflection attachment (Specac Ltd, Orpington, UK) and an Imager.Z1 microscope with an HBO-100 illumination system (Carl Zeiss, Germany) were used. Statistical methods. Results and conclusions. Tire and road wear particles are present in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Moreover, they are wastes. Their physical characteristics of are somewhat similar to the ones of microplastics: the mass of tire and road wear particles is 0.55 mg [0.10; 1.40], size – 1.20×1.10 mm [0.90×0.70; 2.10×2.10], area – 1.43 mm2 [0.63; 4.37], which characterizes tire and road wear particles as a large microplastics, including particle sizes from 1 to 5 mm. However, the chemical characteristics of tire and road wear particles differ from those of microplastics due to the synthetic nature of origin (79.6%), non-fibrous structure (95.9%), gray (30%) or black (30%) color, dominance of calcium stearate and water-based polyurethane varnish in the chemical composition, which are unfavorable in terms of environmental risk. Thus, tire and road wear particles are independent type of waste that has a detrimental effect on the environment. The results obtained dictate the need for further more detailed study of the nature of tire and road wear particles and assessment of their impact on the ecology of the hydrosphere. For citation: Mazlova E.A., Lobanov A.V., Blinovskaya Ya.Yu. Environmental assessment of the impact of tire and road wear particles on the waters of the Arctic Ocean seas. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Assets Engineering, 2026, vol. 337, no. 6, pp. 74-86. https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2026/6/5192