Papers

61,005 results
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Article Tier 2

What is known and unknown concerning microplastics from tyre wear?

This review synthesizes current knowledge on tyre wear particles (TWPs) as a major source of road-traffic microplastics, covering how particle generation, transport pathways, and environmental fate depend on tyre composition, road characteristics, and weather. A key finding is that while TWPs can be identified in environmental samples, quantifying them precisely remains difficult and expensive—a gap that must be closed to accurately assess human and ecological exposure.

2023 Road Materials and Pavement Design 8 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre wear particles: an abundant yet widely unreported microplastic?

Researchers collected tire wear particles from roadside drains and natural environments near a major UK road, finding that these particles are abundant and widespread yet frequently undetected in environmental monitoring, suggesting tyre wear is a major but under-reported microplastic source.

2020 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 317 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire Abrasion as a Major Source of Microplastics in the Environment

This study analyzed tire wear particles as a major source of microplastics in the environment, estimating that tire abrasion contributes a substantial fraction of total microplastic emissions globally and highlighting road runoff as a key delivery pathway to waterways.

2018 Aerosol and Air Quality Research 582 citations
Article Tier 2

Relevance of tyre wear particles to the total content of microplastics transported by runoff in a high-imperviousness and intense vehicle traffic urban area.

Researchers characterized microplastics and tire wear particles (TWPs) transported by urban stormwater runoff in a highly impervious catchment, finding that TWPs made up a substantial fraction of the total microplastic load in sediments of a stormwater detention reservoir. The study underscores the contribution of road traffic to microplastic pollution entering waterways.

2022 Environmental Pollution 47 citations
Article Tier 2

Pollution from Transport: Detection of Tyre Particles in Environmental Samples

This study reviews tyre wear particles as a major but underestimated source of microplastic pollution from road transport, describing methods for detecting these particles in environmental samples including road dust, waterways, and soils. The authors call for greater regulatory attention to tyre-derived emissions alongside other transport-related pollutants.

2022 Energies 41 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental occurrence, fate, impact, and potential solution of tire microplastics: Similarities and differences with tire wear particles

This review examines tire microplastics, one of the most abundant types of microplastics in the environment, which come from tire wear on roads, recycled tire rubber, and tire repair dust. These particles carry a complex mix of chemicals including heavy metals and organic pollutants that can harm aquatic and soil organisms. Since tire microplastics end up in waterways and soil near roads, they represent a significant but often overlooked source of human microplastic exposure.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 259 citations
Article Tier 2

Is road pavement wear a source of microplastics in stormwater runoff?

This study investigated whether road pavement wear is a measurable source of microplastics in stormwater runoff, distinct from the better-characterized tire wear contribution. Pavement-derived particles were identified in stormwater samples, confirming that road surface material itself contributes to microplastic loading in urban runoff alongside tire wear and other sources.

2024 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in the road environment

Researchers measured actual environmental concentrations of tire wear microplastics and other traffic-derived non-exhaust particles in a rural highway setting, providing field-based data to complement the theoretical estimates that dominate current literature.

2022 Environment International 153 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastic and tyre wear particles at a highway: a case study from Norway

Researchers monitored microplastics and tire wear particles (tiny rubber fragments shed by vehicles) in air, road runoff, and road dust along a busy Norwegian highway, finding the highest concentrations in road dust and the lowest in air. The study demonstrates that traffic is a major source of microplastic pollution across multiple environmental pathways.

2025 Microplastics and Nanoplastics
Article Tier 2

Tire wear particles in different water environments: occurrence, behavior, and biological effects—a review and perspectives

This review examines tire wear particles, a major but often overlooked source of microplastics in water environments. Tire particles release toxic chemicals as they break down in water and can harm aquatic organisms, but most research has focused only on the chemical leachate rather than the particles themselves. Since tire wear contributes a large share of total microplastic pollution, understanding its full impact on water ecosystems and the food chain is important for human health.

2023 Environmental Science and Pollution Research 39 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

Tire wear particles in aquatic environments: A systematic review of sources, detection, distribution, and toxicological impacts

This systematic review examined tire wear particles — a type of microplastic created as tires wear down on roads — as an emerging water pollutant. These particles wash into rivers and oceans through stormwater runoff and contain toxic chemicals that harm aquatic organisms. Since tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution, this is relevant to anyone living near roads or consuming seafood.

2025 Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Tyre and road wear particles - A calculation of generation, transport and release to water and soil with special regard to German roads

This study calculated that German roads generate 75,000 to 98,000 tons of tire and road wear particles annually, with a significant portion reaching surface waters and roadside soils. The findings highlight tire wear as a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution requiring better data and management strategies.

2020 The Science of The Total Environment 244 citations
Article Tier 2

Tire Wear and Pollutants: An Overview of Research

This review provides an overview of tire road and wear particles as a major source of microplastic emissions, examining both experimental and mathematical approaches to measuring tire wear. The study notes that while tire wear particles are found in alarming amounts across various environments, they remain less studied than other microplastics, and calls for more accurate simulation models to predict tire wear emissions.

2023 Archives of Advanced Engineering Science 30 citations
Systematic Review Tier 1

A review of rubber tyre derived micro- and nanoplastics: fate, impact and risks

This systematic review examines microplastics generated from rubber tire wear, which are a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution. Tire particles spread through air, stormwater, and wastewater to contaminate both land and water. This is an important human health concern because tire-derived microplastics contain toxic chemicals and are found in the air people breathe and the water they drink.

2025 Environmental Geotechnics 3 citations
Article Tier 2

Types and concentrations of tire wear particles (TWPs) in road dust generated in slow lanes.

Road dust samples collected near traffic lights contained tire wear particles (TWPs), with the concentration and size distribution varying by location and traffic direction. Tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution in urban environments, and these particles are carried into waterways by stormwater runoff.

2024 Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)
Article Tier 2

Assessment of fine and coarse tyre wear particles along a highway stormwater system and in receiving waters: Occurrence and transport

Researchers tracked tire wear particles through a highway stormwater drainage system in Sweden and found contamination at nearly every sampling point, with concentrations reaching up to 17 milligrams per liter in water. A significant portion of the particles were very small, in the 1.6 to 20 micrometer range, which are harder to filter out and more likely to travel long distances. The study highlights that tire wear is a major and often overlooked source of microplastic pollution reaching waterways.

2024 Journal of Environmental Management 22 citations
Article Tier 2

Identification, classification and quantification of microplastics in road dust and stormwater

Researchers identified and quantified microplastics in road dust and stormwater, finding significantly higher concentrations in industrial areas compared to residential zones, with tire wear particles and polyethylene fragments being the most common types.

2022 Chemosphere 80 citations
Article Tier 2

Environmental risks of car tire microplastic particles and other road runoff pollutants

Researchers conducted the first comprehensive environmental risk assessment of tire wear microplastic particles and their associated chemical pollutants in European road runoff. They found that tire wear particles and several related chemicals pose measurable risks to organisms in surface water and sediment. The study suggests that tire wear is a significant but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution with real consequences for aquatic ecosystems.

2021 Microplastics and Nanoplastics 133 citations
Article Tier 2

The influence of road vehicle tyre wear on microplastics in a high-traffic university for sustainable transportation

Researchers examined microplastic pollution from tire wear in a high-traffic university environment. The study found that microplastic concentrations correlated with traffic patterns, peaking on weekdays and declining on weekends, with irregularly shaped black particles composed primarily of polyethylene, polypropylene, and polybutadiene dominating the samples, along with metal contaminants concentrated near the main entrance.

2024 Environmental Pollution 18 citations
Article Tier 2

Microplastics pollution in the terrestrial environments: Poorly known diffuse sources and implications for plants

This review examined poorly understood diffuse sources of microplastic pollution in terrestrial environments, with particular focus on tire and road wear particles in urban areas and the mechanisms by which plants absorb and are affected by microplastics.

2021 The Science of The Total Environment 238 citations
Article Tier 2

An estimation of tire and road wear particles emissions in surface water based on a conceptual framework

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.

2022 The Science of The Total Environment 23 citations
Article Tier 2

Measures to reduce the spread of microplastic particles from tyre wear : On vehicles, on the road and in the roadside environment

Researchers reviewed measures to reduce the spread of microplastic particles from tyre wear at the vehicle, road, and roadside environment levels, examining the transport pathways via air, water, and snow and the risks these persistent, potentially toxic particles pose to ecosystems and human health.

2025 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology)
Article Tier 2

Tire Wear Particles and Their Role in Microplastic Pollution

This review synthesized research on tire wear particles (TWPs) as a major but often overlooked source of microplastic pollution, contributing roughly six million tonnes annually. TWPs spread into soil, rivers, and oceans, where they carry toxic chemicals including heavy metals and PAHs, posing risks to wildlife and potentially entering the human food chain.

2025 Preprints.org
Article Tier 2

Permeable pavements: A possible sink for tyre wear particles and other microplastics?

Researchers sampled approximately 100 kg of particulate material from seven roads and parking lots to analyze microplastic content including tire wear particles. The study found that tire wear constituted the dominant fraction of microplastics at 0.09% of dry mass, with polypropylene as the most common non-tire plastic type, and that permeable pavements may act as sinks trapping these particles before they reach waterways.

2023 The Science of The Total Environment 70 citations