Previous studies have shown some potential for toxicity for TRWP, but few studies have evaluated the toxicity of such particles using freshwater sediment – such as that found in rivers and lakes – which is likely an important sink of tire wear particles in the environment. Accordingly, TIP has sponsored research in to the acute and chronic toxicity of TRWP to freshwater – and freshwater-sediment-dwelling organisms.
TIP studies observed the effects of acute and chronic exposure of test species to TRWP in sediment at concentrations up to 10,000mg of TRWP per kg of sediment under conditions representative of receiving water bodies.
In both studies, limited toxicity was observed on test species. These results indicate that under typical exposure conditions TRWP in sediments pose a low risk of toxicity to aquatic organisms.
