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Review: Micro- and macro-scale transport of tire wear particles in aquatic environments and risk control
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Every time tires wear down on roads, they shed tiny plastic-like particles that eventually wash into rivers, lakes, and oceans. This review pulls together existing research on how these particles settle, travel, and build up in water — a key step in understanding where they end up and how they might affect aquatic life and, potentially, the food and water humans rely on. While it doesn't test new health effects, it lays the groundwork for figuring out how to reduce this widespread but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution.
Since the introduction of the microplastics (MPs) concept, these contaminants have received sustained global attention. Tire wear particles (TWPs), as a dominant anthropogenic MP fraction, have been the subject of rapidly expanding research in recent years. Sedimentation is the key process controlling the environmental fate and ecological effects of TWPs in aquatic environments, which act as their primary sink, transport pathway, and exposure medium. Elucidating TWP sedimentation mechanisms, transport behavior, and risk mitigation strategies is therefore critical to addressing their associated environmental problems. This review systematically summarizes the microscale sedimentation mechanisms, influencing factors, transport pathways, and risk control measures for TWPs in aquatic environments, incorporating recent advances in flux estimation. It provides essential insights to guide future research on TWP environmental behavior.
More Papers Like This
Tire wear particles in different water environments: occurrence, behavior, and biological effects—a review and perspectives
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This review examines tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastics in water environments. Tire particles release toxic chemicals as they break down in water and can harm aquatic organisms, but most research has focused only on the chemical leachate rather than the particles themselves. Since tire wear contributes a large share of total microplastic pollution, understanding its full impact on water ecosystems and the food chain is important for human health.
Tire wear particles in aquatic environments: A systematic review of sources, detection, distribution, and toxicological impacts
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This systematic review examined tire wear particles — a type of microplastic created as tires wear down on roads — as an emerging water pollutant. These particles wash into rivers and oceans through stormwater runoff and contain toxic chemicals that harm aquatic organisms. Since tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution, this is relevant to anyone living near roads or consuming seafood.
Microplastics and tire wear particles in aquatic environment: A comparative review on generation, characteristics and environmental behavior
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Tiny bits of rubber worn off from car tires are actually one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution in our water, yet they've gotten far less scientific attention than plastic microplastics from bottles and packaging. This review paper — which summarizes existing research rather than presenting new experiments — shows that tire particles behave differently, potentially leaching different chemicals and carrying pollutants in unique ways, meaning the safety testing methods designed for regular microplastics may not fully capture the risks tire particles pose to waterways and, ultimately, human health.
Microplastics from tyre and road wear A literature review
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This literature review examines microplastics generated from tire and road wear, identifying road traffic as a significant but often overlooked source of plastic pollution in urban runoff and waterways. The authors assess what is known about tire particle composition, environmental fate, and potential ecological effects.
Vehicle tyres - A key source of microplastics to the environment: Fate, effects, and mitigation strategies
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Every time car tires roll on the road, they shed tiny plastic and rubber particles that wash into our air, soil, and waterways, making tires one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution around. This review pulls together existing research on where these particles end up, how they may affect wildlife and human health, and what steps (like better tire designs or road filters) could help cut down on this overlooked pollution source.
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