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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Characterisation and spatial distribution of tyre wear particles in Swedish highway snow: Loads into roadside ditches and risk of emissions with snowmelt
ClearOccurrence of tire and road wear particles in urban and peri-urban snowbanks, and their potential environmental implications
Researchers analyzed urban and peri-urban snowbanks in Norway and found significant concentrations of tire and road wear particles, confirming roads as a major source of microplastic pollution. The study is among the first to measure mass concentrations of these particles in snow, providing important data on how they accumulate and are transported in cold climates. The findings suggest that snowmelt may carry substantial loads of tire-derived microplastics into waterways each spring.
Microplastics (MPs) in urban roadside snowbanks: Quantities, size fractions and dynamics of release
Tire wear particles and road wear particles were found to dominate microplastic contamination in urban roadside snowbanks in northern Sweden, with MPs detected across multiple size fractions. The study documented a large pulse of MP release when snowbanks melt in spring, identifying snowmelt as a seasonal point source of microplastics entering urban waterways.
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.
Traffic Intensity as a Factor Influencing Microplastic and Tire Wear Particle Pollution in Snow Accumulated on Urban Roads
A study in a medium-sized Polish city found microplastics and tire wear particles at all 53 road sites examined, with concentrations in road snow scaling strongly with traffic volume — from roughly 62 particles per liter on quiet streets to nearly 793 on heavy-traffic roads. Snow acts as a temporary reservoir, concentrating these particles through winter before releasing them in large pulses into rivers and streams during spring melt. The findings suggest that reducing traffic speeds, sweeping roads regularly, and installing stormwater filters are practical measures to limit urban microplastic runoff.
Traffic Intensity as a Factor Influencing Microplastic and Tire Wear Particle Pollution in Snow Accumulated on Urban Roads
This study examined how traffic volume influences microplastic and tire wear particle (TWP) concentrations in snow accumulated on urban roads in a medium-sized Polish city. Higher traffic intensity corresponded with significantly greater microplastic and TWP concentrations, confirming roads as major point sources of synthetic particle pollution in urban snowpack.
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.
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.
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.
Mitigation of Suspendable Road Dust in a Subpolar, Oceanic Climate
Tire and road wear particles (TRWP), a major source of microplastics in waterways, are especially abundant in cold climates where studded tires are common. This study assessed road dust generation and found that traffic volume and road surface conditions are key drivers of TRWP pollution.
Snow dumping station – A considerable source of tyre wear, microplastics, and heavy metal pollution
Researchers investigated microplastic and tire wear particle pollution in snow from dumping stations in Riga, Latvia, and found substantially higher contamination levels in urban areas compared to remote reference sites. The study identified tire wear particles as a major contributor, with microplastic concentrations reaching up to 2,549 particles per liter of melted snow, highlighting snow dumping stations as a notable source of waterway pollution.
Trafikrelaterade föroreningar i urban snö : Koncentrationer, storleksfördelning och spridning vid snösmältning
This Swedish study found that urban snowbanks accumulate traffic-related pollutants — including microplastics, metals, and organic compounds — which are released in concentrated pulses when snow melts in spring, posing risks to urban waterways.
Swedish sources and pathways for microplastics to the marine environment
Researchers reviewed Swedish sources and transport pathways of microplastics to the marine environment, identifying road tire wear and abrasion as the dominant emission source at approximately 13,000 tonnes per year, with stormwater, wastewater, and atmospheric deposition as primary pathways to aquatic systems.
Modelled atmospheric concentration of tyre wear in an urban environment
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Microplastics and tyre wear particles in urban runoff from different urban surfaces
Researchers measured microplastics and tire wear particles in stormwater runoff from roads, parking lots, and rooftops in Sweden. They found that road runoff carried the highest concentrations by far, with large variations between rainfall events. The findings highlight urban roads as a major source of microplastic pollution entering nearby waterways through stormwater.
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.
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.
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.
Are northern communities an overlooked source of microplastics and tire wear particles in the Arctic?
Researchers asked whether northern remote communities (Arctic and sub-Arctic) are an overlooked source of microplastic pollution relative to their small populations, finding that waste management practices in these areas can disproportionately contribute to local contamination. The study highlights the importance of addressing plastic waste management in all community types.
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.
Particles of synthetic polymers in fresh snow in the northwest of the Kola peninsula in 2020–2021
Researchers analyzed fresh snow samples collected along and away from highways in the northwest Kola Peninsula between December 2020 and April 2021 for the presence of synthetic polymer particles absorbed from the atmosphere by snow crystals. The study detected microplastic particles in snow from both roadside and remote locations, confirming atmospheric deposition of synthetic polymers in a subarctic region and identifying traffic as a contributing but not exclusive source.