OLYMPIA, Wash. – The WA Department of Ecology a toxic byproduct of car tires that poses a threat to ecological and human health, earlier this week. The regulations are the result of years of work by Washington researchers.
6PPD is a chemical used in nearly all car tires that helps avoid warping during temperature fluctuations. It creates a byproduct called 6PPD-quinnone that has damaged Washington coho salmon populations
It took Washington researchers decades to identify the chemical that was causing pre-spawn mortality amongst coho salmon populations. A research partnership between University of Washington-Tacoma and Washington State University yielded a 2020 breakthrough which identified 6PPD-quinnone.
Though the Department of Ecology has been aware of the danger posed by this chemical since the early 2020s, regulating the compound is not a simple task. 6PPD is a ubiquitous part of modern tire production and is considered an important component of motorist safety by the US Tire Manufacturers Association.
The new department regulations were announced just weeks after before congress on the substance. They are the first statewide numeric limitation on 6PPD contact with freshwater enacted in the US.
While 6PPD-quinnone has been added to Washington’s list of regulated toxic substances, there is still no major framework to keep the substance from running off roadways into streams and water sources. Ecology continues to study potential solutions to that problem.
“Once the new criteria are approved by [the US Environmental Protection Agency], Ecology will use them to identify polluted waters and develop clean up plans [and] when updating water quality permits for facilities discharging those chemicals,” an Ecology press release said.
