Cited by 267Microplastics and Plastic PollutionToxic Organic Pollutants ImpactRecycling and utilization of industrial and municipal waste in materials production

Where the rubber meets the road: Emerging environmental impacts of tire wear particles and their chemical cocktails

Open access
Mayer, Paul M., Moran, Kelly D., Miller, Ezra L., Brander, Susanne M., Harper, Stacey, Garcia-Jaramillo, Manuel, Carrasco-Navarro, Victor, Ho, Kay T. +23 more·2024·Science of The Total Environment

Abstract

About 3 billion new tires are produced each year and about 800 million tires become waste annually. Global dependence upon tires produced from natural rubber and petroleum-based compounds represents a persistent and complex environmental problem with only partial and often-times, ineffective solutions. Tire emissions may be in the form of whole tires, tire particles, and chemical compounds, each of which is transported through various atmospheric, terrestrial, and aquatic routes in the natural and built environments. Production and use of tires generates multiple heavy metals, plastics, PAH's, and other compounds that can be toxic alone or as chemical cocktails. Used tires require storage space, are energy intensive to recycle, and generally have few post-wear uses that are not also potential sources of pollutants (e.g., crumb rubber, pavements, burning). Tire particles emitted during use are a major component of microplastics in urban runoff and a source of unique and highly potent toxic substances. Thus, tires represent a ubiquitous and complex pollutant that requires a comprehensive examination to develop effective management and remediation. We approach the issue of tire pollution holistically by examining the life cycle of tires across production, emissions, recycling, and disposal. In this paper, we synthesize recent research and data about the environmental and human health risks associated with the production, use, and disposal of tires and discuss gaps in our knowledge about fate and transport, as well as the toxicology of tire particles and chemical leachates. We examine potential management and remediation approaches for addressing exposure risks across the life cycle of tires. We consider tires as pollutants across three levels: tires in their whole state, as particulates, and as a mixture of chemical cocktails. Finally, we discuss information gaps in our understanding of tires as a pollutant and outline key questions to improve our knowledge and ability to manage and remediate tire pollution.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171153

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  • Common improper disposal methods for plastic and tire waste globally include landfilling, illegal dumping, and open burning, leading to severe environmental consequences such as soil and water contamination, air pollution from toxic emissions, and habitat destruction.

    “Common improper disposal methods for plastic and tire waste globally include landfilling, illegal dumping, and open burning, leading to severe environmental consequences such as soil and water contamination, air pollution from toxic emissions, and habitat destruction [320].”

    From Biofuels, E-Fuels, and Waste-Derived Fuels: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions (2025) · cites this paper as [320]

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  • Many poorly documented contaminants derived from vehicles or roadways, or specifically from tire rubbers, exist in environmental matrices.

    “Additionally, there exist many poorly documented contaminants derived from vehicles or roadways, or specically from tire rubbers, in environmental matrices.13”

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [25]25. Brander SM, König A, Carney BA, Thornton Hampton L, 2024. The potential for toxicity to fishes from Micro and Nanoplastics, and their additives. In: Willet K., Aluru N (Eds.), The Toxicology of Fishes. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA.
  2. [81]81. European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturer’s Association, 2021. Europe 95% of all End of Life Tyres were collected and treated in 2019 [Press Release]. https://www.etrma.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/20210520_ETRMA_PRESS-RELEASE_ELT-2019.pdf.
  3. [91]91. Field R, Heaney JP, Pitt R (Eds.), 2000. Innovative Urban Wet-Weather Flow Management Systems. Technomic Publishing Co.
  4. [202]202. Nedrich S, 2022. Preliminary investigation of 6PPD-quinone in surface water and standing road water in Michigan. 2022 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC22).

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Authors
Mayer, P. M., Moran, K. D., Miller, E. L., Brander, S. M., Harper, S., Garcia-Jaramillo, M., Carrasco-Navarro, V., Ho, K. T., Burgess, R. M., Thornton Hampton, L. M., Granek, E. F., McCauley, M., McIntyre, J. K., Kolodziej, E. P., Hu, X., Williams, A. J., Beckingham, B. A., Jackson, M. E., Sanders-Smith, R. D., Fender, C. L., King, G. A., Bollman, M., Kaushal, S. S., Cunningham, B. E., Hutton, S. J., Lang, J., Goss, H. V., Siddiqui, S., Sutton, R., Lin, D., & Mendez, M.
Affiliations
  • Environmental Protection Agency (US)
  • San Francisco Estuary Institute (US)
  • Oregon State University (US)
  • Portland State University (US)
  • Washington State University (US)
  • University of Washington (US)
  • College of Charleston (US)
  • Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (US)
  • GSI Environmental (United States) (US)
  • University of California, Davis (US)
Corresponding author
Mayer, Paul M.
Venue
Science of The Total Environment
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2024-06
Volume
927
Pages
171153
ISSN
0048-9697 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4392563131
Cited by
267
References
278
Citations by year
2026: 128 · 2025: 110 · 2024: 29
FWCI
6.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Science of The Total Environment (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PDXScholar (Portland State University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Eastern Finland
  • California Ocean Protection Council
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Microplastics and Plastic Pollution
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Toxic Organic Pollutants Impact
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › Recycling and utilization of industrial and municipal waste in materials production
Keywords
tire wear particles, waste tires, microplastics, waste tire recycling, waste tire disposal, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemical cocktails, leachate, toxicology, human health risk, environmental fate and transport, urban runoff, remediation

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