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Accelerated transformation and enhanced gastrointestinal toxicity of tire wear particles during photo-chlorination mediated by reactive species
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Tiny plastic particles from worn tires end up in our water, and this study found that when they're exposed to both sunlight and chlorine (like what happens during water treatment), they break down faster and become more toxic than expected. In lab tests, these transformed particles caused more damage to human stomach cells and mouse intestinal tissue, including harming their ability to absorb nutrients. This suggests that the disinfection processes meant to make our water safer could actually make tire particle pollution more harmful to our gut health, a risk that current water treatment systems aren't designed to address.
Elevated concentrations of microplastic in surface water and wastewater necessitate understanding their transformation during disinfection and subsequent discharge. This process occurs inevitably when microplastics enter disinfection systems or are discharged from wastewater treatment plants. However, the behavior of tire wear particles (TWPs), an important and complex microplastic component, remains poorly understood during photo-chlorination. Here, we show that photo-chlorination significantly accelerates TWP transformation and degrades the released organic matter compared to dark-aging, photo-aging, or chlorination alone. Specifically, photo-chlorination induces extensive physical damage, surface oxidation, and chlorine addition in TWPs while simultaneously consuming released organic matter to produce a broader diversity of byproducts. The photolysis of free chlorine generates hydroxyl radicals (HO•) and O, which primarily drive TWP oxidation, while reactive chlorine species (RCS) and HO• induce chlorination reactions. The oxidative effects of HO• and O on TWPs and released organic matter subsequently enhance RCS-mediated degradation of these organic compounds. Critically, photo-chlorinated TWPs and their transformation products exhibit enhanced cytotoxicity toward human gastric epithelial cells, as well as intensified proliferative toxicity and nutrient uptake inhibition in mouse small intestinal organoids. These findings provide new insights into the environmental behavior of TWPs and highlight their potential toxicological implications in impacted water systems.
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UV Aging Enhances the Formation of Disinfection Byproducts from Tire Wear Particles upon Chlorination
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Tiny bits of tire rubber wash off roads into our water supply, and sunlight exposure makes them react differently when water is treated with chlorine — producing 1.5 to 2 times more byproducts, including a wider variety of chlorinated compounds that tend to be more harmful. This matters because tire particles are everywhere in the environment, and this research suggests that sun-damaged tire debris could make your tap or tap-sourced water contain more, and potentially more toxic, chemical byproducts than previously assumed.
Increased Aquatic Toxicity of Tire Wear Particles Following Oxidative Aging: Mechanism Insights into Matrix Loosening and Transformation Products
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Tiny bits of tire rubber wash into rivers and lakes, and this study found that sunlight and ozone exposure make them even more toxic over time, not less. As the particles break down, they release new chemical byproducts that made up nearly half of the harmful effects seen in zebrafish embryos, even at very low, real-world exposure levels. This matters because it suggests weathered tire particles in waterways could pose bigger risks to aquatic life (and potentially the food chain) than current safety testing accounts for, since most assessments don't look for these newly formed breakdown chemicals.
Behavior of compounds leached from tire tread particles under simulated sunlight exposure
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This study examined what happens to chemicals that leach from tire tread particles when exposed to sunlight. While sunlight broke down about a third of the leached compounds, it also created new transformation products, some of which may be more harmful than the originals. Since tire particles are a major source of microplastics in waterways, understanding how their chemicals change in sunlight is important for assessing real-world health risks.
In Vitro Assessment Reveals the Effects of Environmentally Persistent Free Radicals on the Toxicity of Photoaged Tire Wear Particles
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Researchers examined how tire wear particles change when exposed to sunlight and found that the aging process generates environmentally persistent free radicals on their surfaces. These radicals significantly increased the toxicity of the particles in laboratory cell tests, causing oxidative stress and DNA damage. The study suggests that weathered tire particles may be more harmful than freshly released ones, adding a new dimension to microplastic pollution concerns.
Effects of aged tire wear particles on nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands: Mechanistic insights into different aging pathways
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Tiny particles worn off tires wash into constructed wetlands—engineered systems that use plants and microbes to filter pollutants from water—and this study found they can weaken the wetland's ability to remove nitrogen, a common water pollutant. Whether the tire particles were broken down by sunlight or heat mattered: both types harmed helpful bacteria and stressed plants, but through different mechanisms, with sun-degraded particles causing more damage. This matters because if these widely used water treatment systems become less effective at removing nitrogen, it could allow more pollution to reach rivers and drinking water sources, highlighting a
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