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Occurrence and hydrolytic stability of emerging tire wear contaminants in environmental waters and soils: A case study from northern Poland
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This study tested water and soil samples in northern Poland for chemicals that come from tire wear, including 6PPD-Q. The chemical 6PPD-Q was found in all water samples and was assessed as posing high ecological risk at every site tested.
Background Tire wear particles release additives and transformation products into the environment. Among these, p -phenylenediamines (PPDs) and their quinone transformation products (PPD-Qs), including 6PPD-Q, have attracted increasing attention. However, data on tire wear contaminants (TWCs) in Central and Eastern Europe remain limited, and their hydrolytic stability is poorly characterized. This study investigated the hydrolytic stability of 16 TWCs, optimized sample pre-treatment, and assessed their occurrence and preliminary ecological risks in water and soil samples from northern Poland. Results Under OECD Test Guideline 111 conditions, parent PPDs generally showed lower hydrolytic stability than PPD-Qs. Ten TWCs were detected in soils, with benzothiazole (BTH) reaching 387 ng/g, whereas all target analytes were detected in water, with 6PPD-Q occurring at 1.85–297 ng/L and BTH at up to 326 ng/L. Moreover, PPD-Qs predominated over parent PPDs in water, whereas the opposite pattern occurred in soils. Additionally, sites subject to greater traffic influence generally showed more complex TWC profiles. A preliminary environmental risk assessment based on measured concentrations indicated that 6PPD-Q posed high ecological risks at all water sites. Significance This study provides the first dataset on TWC occurrence in surface waters and soils in Poland. The findings demonstrate the environmental relevance of PPD transformation products and support their inclusion alongside parent tire additives in environmental monitoring and risk assessment. The observed ecological risk associated with 6PPD-Q further highlights the need for continued monitoring of tire-derived contaminants in Polish aquatic environments.
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This review summarizes existing research on 6PPD-Q, a chemical formed from a tire rubber additive that can wash into waterways and persist there. It describes how the chemical forms, and compares chemical, biological, and adsorption methods studied for removing it from water.
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Researchers found that washing roads with reclaimed water instead of rainwater accelerates the aging of tire wear particles and significantly increases conversion of the tire additive 6PPD into its more toxic transformation product 6PPD-quinone, suggesting that urban water reuse practices may inadvertently amplify the release of a compound acutely lethal to coho salmon.
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Tiny bits of worn tire rubber release a chemical called 6PPD-quinone into air, water, and soil, and it's already known to be highly toxic. This review pulls together what scientists currently know, showing that while it's turning up everywhere in the environment, we still don't fully understand its long-term effects on human health, making it a pollutant worth watching closely.
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Tires release a chemical called 6-PPD that can transform into 6-PPDQ, a byproduct toxic enough to kill certain fish species, raising concerns about waterway pollution from road runoff. This study found that in water, only tiny amounts of 6-PPD actually convert into the more harmful 6-PPDQ, but sunlight and oxygen exposure in the air can speed up this conversion — meaning environmental conditions matter a lot for how much of this concerning chemical actually forms and lingers.
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