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Tire/Tyre Wear Particles in the Terrestrial Environment: A Critical Scoping Review
Summary
Every time tires roll on pavement, they shed tiny particles that end up in soil, dust, and waterways—and this review pulls together five years of research on where these particles go and what harm they might cause. While scientists are still working out the full health picture, tire particles are known to carry chemicals linked to toxicity in animals and plants, raising concern about long-term human exposure through air, soil, and food chains. The takeaway: this is a fast-growing pollution source that needs better tracking and stronger policies, since we're still in the early stages of understanding how it could affect our health.
Background/Objectives: Tire (or tyre) wear particles (TWPs), originating from road traffic, have been recognized as a significant emerging contaminant for terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this study is to attempt a critical review of the existing articles, to identify trends and directions in research, highlight any knowledge gaps, limitations and drawbacks, and develop respective proposals and recommendations. Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in the PubMed and Web of Science databases for the period 2020–2025 according to PRISMA-based protocols. Results: The final studies were methodically grouped into specific representative themes. Conclusions: This study focuses on the factors affecting the emissions of TWPs, their size distribution, processes that affect their environmental fate and methodological approaches for characterization/determination of TWPs. This article also explores the occurrence and toxicity of TWPs in the terrestrial environment, as well as the management approaches and policies in order to minimize their impact.