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About the variability of tire and road wear marker components in air: from emissions to atmospheric deposition
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Scientists developed a new method to track tiny particles that come from car tires wearing down on roads, which are now recognized as one of the biggest sources of microplastic pollution worldwide. They found these tire particles can travel far from roads through the air and change into different chemicals, including some that may be harmful. This matters because these airborne tire particles could pose risks to human health and the environment, but we're just starting to understand how much is actually in the air we breathe.
The question whether tire and road wear particles (TRWP) impact air quality has been widely debated since decades. Today, TRWP are recognized as one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution worldwide. When airborne, TRWP can be transported far away from roads and transformed by weathering posing a potential risk to both ecosystem integrity and human health. Yet, little is known about their atmospheric abundance and variability due to emissions, transport and transformation processes.One reason for this knowledge-gap is the lack of tools for direct identification and quantification of TRWP in atmospheric samples. Recently it has been suggested to make use of organic additives as marker components, that are specific to tire wear and traceable. Here, we developed a new analytical workflow based on high-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS), to trace six selected TRWP marker components: the antiozonants, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD), N-isopropyl-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (IPPD), and N,N'-diphenyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPPD), their oxidation products (6PPD-quinone, IPPD-quinone), and the vulcanization accelerator 1,3-diphenylguanidine (DPG). We designed a single-method framework to observe marker variabilities across a wide variety of sample types: from pristine tire material, to abrasion-related emissions from testbed and road, airborne ultrafine particles (UFP), and total atmospheric deposition. Marker composition varied strongly with source, emission conditions, and environmental exposure.We highlight a large tire-to-tire variability and significant losses of the antiozonants during abrasion, which both challenge quantification and calculation of the original TRWP mass. Moreover, we show the presence of TRWP in airborne ultrafine particles and atmospheric total deposition. These samples revealed a significant degree of oxidation, which should to be taken into account when considering the traceability of such markers and their environmental impact, e.g. through formation of harmful oxidation products.This project is financed by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Environment and Consumer Protection and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) SFB 1357 - project nr. 391977956.
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Chemical tracers for assessing the contribution of tire wear particles in atmospheric aerosol: analytical approaches, challenges and future perspectives
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Every time your car's tires grip the road, they shed tiny plastic particles that become part of the air pollution you breathe, and this can account for more air pollution than what comes out of your tailpipe. This review paper looks at the scientific methods used to detect these tire particles in air pollution and finds that there's currently no reliable single test for them, meaning scientists still need better tools to figure out exactly how much of the air we breathe contains this tire-derived microplastic pollution and its associated chemicals. This matters because until we can accurately measure it, it's hard to fully assess the health risks these particles and their leaching chemicals may pose.
Development and application of an analytical method for the quantification of tire wear in atmospheric deposition
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Researchers developed a lab method that measures tiny particles of worn tire rubber in dust collected from the air, using chemical markers released when samples are heated. Testing it on real outdoor samples near a busy road and a quieter suburban area, they found roughly three times more tire particles settling near the road.
Modelled atmospheric concentration of tyre wear in an urban environment
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Researchers modeled airborne concentrations of tire wear particles — tiny plastic-containing fragments released when vehicle tires rub against road surfaces — across Stockholm, finding that these microplastic particles are widespread in cities and make up 4–6% of total air particle pollution, with concentrations highest near busy highways and in narrow street canyons.
Chemical characterization and temperature dependence of volatile submicron tire wear particles formed by evaporation–condensation
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When tires get hot, like from friction on the road, they can release tiny invisible particles that form through evaporation, not just from bits of rubber flaking off, and these particles are small enough to potentially breathe deep into your lungs. This study found a chemical "fingerprint" for these tire-derived particles, but it also discovered they can look surprisingly similar to smoke particles from wood burning, meaning some air pollution currently blamed on wildfires or wood stoves might actually be coming from hot tires. This matters because it could change how scientists estimate your true exposure to traffic-related air pollution in cities.
Tire-Derived Microplastics as Chemically Complex Environmental Contaminants: Mechanistic Pathways, Exposure Gradients, and Implications for Environmental Health.
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Every time tires wear down on the road, they release tiny plastic and chemical particles into the air, water, and soil, and this review pulls together existing research showing these particles carry a toxic mix of chemicals linked to inflammation, blood vessel damage, and stress on the body's systems. People living near busy roads may face the highest exposure, raising concerns about long-term risks for heart and metabolic disease, though scientists say more direct research is needed to confirm exactly how much harm this causes in humans.
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