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Source-related smart suspect screening in the aqueous environment: search for tire-derived persistent and mobile trace organic contaminants in surface waters
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Researchers developed a targeted screening method to trace chemical contaminants leaching from tire rubber into urban waterways, identifying 41 compounds — including persistent benzothiazoles and glycols — at high rates in both urban creeks and wastewater treatment plant inflows, showing tire wear particles are a major pollution source.
A variant of suspect screening by liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) is proposed in this study: Samples of a potential source of contamination and of an environmental sample close to this source are first analyzed in a non-targeted manner to select source-related suspects and to identify them. The suspect list compiled from such an exercise is then applied to LC-HRMS data of environmental samples to ascribe and to identify persistent and mobile contaminants in the water cycle that may originate from the source under study. This approach was applied to tire crumb rubber (source) and road dust (close to source); by comparison of the two data sets, 88% of the features detected in tire leachate could be excluded. Of the 48 suspects remaining, a total of 41 could be tentatively identified as either related to hexamethoxymethyl melamine or cyclic amines, benzothiazoles, or glycols. Subsequently, environmental samples were searched for these suspects: 85% were determined in an urban creek after a combined sewer overflow and 67% in the influent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). These exceptionally high rates of positive findings prove that this source-related smart suspect screening effectively directs the effort of selecting and identifying unknown contaminants to those related to the source of interest. The WWTP effluent and the urban creek during dry weather also showed the presence of numerous contaminants that may stem from tire and road wear particles (TRWP) in road runoff. Contribution from other sources, however, cannot be ruled out. Graphical abstract.
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Researchers measured tire road wear particles (TRWPs) and tire additive chemicals in surface water from five urban centers in Queensland, Australia. TRWPs were detected in all samples, confirming that tire wear is a significant and widespread source of microplastic and chemical pollution in urban Australian waterways.
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Researchers identified organic chemical markers that can trace tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) in soils and sediments. They found that benzothiazole derivatives and transformation products of tire rubber chemicals were detectable in environmental samples and could serve as quantitative indicators of TRWP contamination. This provides scientists with better tools for tracking traffic-related pollution in the environment.
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Scientists developed a new, easy-to-use lab method to detect chemicals leaching from tire rubber (like playground surfaces and roads) into urban water. Using this method, they found two potentially harmful chemicals, 6PPD and its byproduct 6PPD-quinone—both linked to toxicity in aquatic life—in every water sample tested. This matters because tire-derived chemicals are increasingly showing up in the water around us, and having a reliable way to track them is a key first step toward understanding how much we and wildlife are actually exposed to.
An estimation of tire and road wear particles emissions in surface water based on a conceptual framework
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Researchers developed a conceptual framework to estimate emissions of tire and road wear particles (TRWPs) into surface water, identifying them as a dominant source of microplastic contamination in freshwater environments globally.
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Researchers developed a methodology to quantify tire wear emissions in a road tunnel using benzothiazoles — chemical components of tire rubber — as tracers in tunnel wash water. The approach offers a practical way to estimate how much tire particle pollution, a major source of microplastics, is generated on busy road corridors.
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