Papers

61,005 results
|
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
Review Tier 2

Microplastics from tyre and road wear A literature review

This literature review examines microplastics generated from tire and road wear, identifying road traffic as a significant but often overlooked source of plastic pollution in urban runoff and waterways. The authors assess what is known about tire particle composition, environmental fate, and potential ecological effects.

2020 KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) 32 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
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

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

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

Static modelling of the material flows of micro- and nanoplastic particles caused by the use of vehicle tyres

Researchers modeled the flow of tyre wear particles in Austria, finding that about 6% of tyre rubber is released as wear particles into the environment each year, with emissions entering air, soil, and surface water. The study estimated that of the 21,200 tonnes released annually, about 6% are microscale particles and 0.3% are nanoscale, and concluded that reducing overall vehicle mileage would be the most effective way to cut these emissions.

2021 Environmental Pollution 50 citations
Article Tier 2

Plastic dispersion and accumulation in the environment using a mass flow analysis approach

Researchers developed a material flow analysis model to quantify global plastic emissions and project their environmental accumulation through 2050 under business-as-usual, reduction, and zero-production scenarios. Results show that rubber microplastics from car tyres account for over 60% of global microplastic releases, accumulating primarily along roadsides and in subsurface waters, while packaging plastics from lower-middle-income countries dominate macroplastic inputs.

2022 Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Article Tier 2

Development of a parametrized and regionalized life cycle inventory model for tire and road wear particles

Researchers developed a detailed model for estimating tire and road wear particle emissions, a major but often overlooked source of microplastics from vehicle traffic. The model accounts for nine key factors including road texture, driving behavior, temperature, and tire type, and can generate estimates at both individual vehicle and national scales. The study found that road surface roughness, aggressive driving, and wet conditions are the biggest drivers of large particle emissions, while temperature and vehicle load most affect fine particle release.

2025 Journal of Hazardous Materials 2 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

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
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

Are vehicle tires major contributors to microplastic emissions into the China seas? A simple model perspective

Researchers developed a model to estimate annual microplastic emissions from vehicle tires into China's marine environment. The study suggests that tire wear particles represent a substantial but often overlooked source of marine microplastics, with transport and fate varying significantly based on physical and chemical properties of the particles.

2024 The Science of The Total Environment 16 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

Wheels of Contamination: Car tire microplastics from source to sea

Researchers traced car tyre microplastics from their generation through environmental transport pathways to eventual deposition in the sea, estimating that more than 55% of tyre-wear particles enter aquatic environments via runoff and atmospheric transport. The study synthesised existing data on tyre microplastic sources, emission rates, and fate to map the full contamination pathway from road surfaces to ocean ecosystems.

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

Wheels of Contamination: Car tire microplastics from source to sea

Researchers traced the pathway of car tire microplastics from their origin on road surfaces through environmental transport routes to marine deposition, estimating that over 55 million kilograms of tire wear particles enter aquatic environments annually. The study synthesized evidence on emission rates, transport mechanisms, and ecological risks associated with tire-derived microplastics reaching the sea.

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

Risk assessment of tire wear in the environment – a literature review

This review assesses the environmental risks of tire wear emissions, which release microplastic-like particles containing polymers and potentially toxic chemicals into water and soil. While initial risk estimates suggest low risk from the particulate emissions themselves, the chemicals that leach from tire particles remain poorly characterized. The findings are relevant to human health because tire wear is one of the largest sources of microplastic pollution, and the leached chemicals may enter drinking water.

2025 Environmental Science Processes & Impacts 5 citations
Article Tier 2

Assessing regional emissions of vehicle-based tire wear particle from macro-to micro/nano-scales with pandemic lockdowns and electromobility scenarios implications

Researchers developed a data-driven probabilistic model to estimate regional tire wear particle emissions across different land use scenarios, incorporating vehicle fleet data, driving patterns, and emission factors. Modeling suggested that tire wear particles represent a substantial and underappreciated pathway for microplastic entry into the atmosphere, with implications for both human health and environmental policy.

2022 Chemosphere 15 citations
Article Tier 2

Realistic evaluation of tire wear particle emissions and their driving factors on different road types

This study measured tire wear particle (TWP) emissions under realistic driving conditions on different road types and identified the key driving factors affecting emission rates. Tire wear particles are a major category of microplastic pollution in road runoff, and this data is needed to estimate their contribution to environmental contamination.

2023
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

Wear and Tear of Tyres: A Stealthy Source of Microplastics in the Environment

This paper compiles existing knowledge on tire wear as a major but often overlooked source of microplastics, estimating global per-person emissions at about 0.8 kilograms per year. Tire particles enter waterways, air, and soil, with an estimated 5-10% of ocean plastic pollution originating from tire wear. The study calls for increased awareness and creative solutions to address this stealthy yet substantial contributor to microplastic contamination.

2017 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 1428 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