Tyre pollution is the mixture of rubber, road material and chemical additives released when tyres wear against pavement. The resulting particles can become airborne dust, settle beside roads, or wash through drains with rain. One additive pathway is especially well documented: ozone can transform 6PPD, a common tyre anti-degradant, into 6PPD-quinone, a chemical linked by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to acute deaths of coho salmon exposed to contaminated stormwater. That ecological finding is serious, but it does not establish a quantified disease risk for people. Human exposure levels and long-term health effects remain insufficiently characterised.
What is tyre pollution?
Tyre pollution is usually discussed as a non-exhaust traffic emission: material generated by vehicle use rather than by an engine or exhaust pipe. Every time a tyre grips, brakes, accelerates or turns, friction abrades both the tyre and the road. The debris is not one uniform substance. It can contain rubber particles, mineral fragments from the road surface, carbon-based fillers, metals and chemicals that migrate out of the rubber.
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The term is used in two ways. In its narrow, practical sense, it means wear particles and associated chemicals released during driving, then transported through air and water. EPA also describes a wider life-cycle problem that includes manufacturing, reuse, disposal and tyre fires. The air-and-water question is mainly about use-phase wear, because that is the route that repeatedly delivers material to roads, drainage systems and nearby ecosystems.
Terminology and measurement are still being standardised. EPA’s 2023 waterways report notes that “tyre-wear particle” can refer to a mixture of tyre and road-wear material, and that sampling methods do not yet produce perfectly comparable results. A reported mass may therefore include different proportions of rubber and pavement depending on the site and analytical method.
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How do tyre particles move from roads into air and water?
1. Abrasion creates a roadside reservoir
Tyre-road contact leaves particles on the lane, shoulder, parking surface and nearby soil. Traffic can crush or resuspend settled debris, while wind can move the smaller fraction away from the original road. The particles do not all behave alike: size, shape, density, weather and traffic determine whether a particle remains near the road, becomes dust, or is transported in runoff.
2. Some particles become airborne dust
Wind and passing vehicles can lift particles into the air. EPA’s 7 August 2024 overview estimates that a tyre may shed between two and 14 pounds of rubber particles between use and initial disposal. The same overview says some particles may be small enough to remain windborne for up to a month before depositing. Those figures are EPA estimates, not a universal result for every tyre, vehicle, climate or road.
Airborne particles can deposit on vegetation, soil, buildings or water. A later rain event can move that deposited material again, so air and water are connected stages of one pathway rather than separate pollution problems.
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3. Rain carries residue through drainage
Rainfall mobilises particles from roads and parking areas. Flow can enter kerb drains, pipes and sewers, then reach streams, rivers, estuaries or coastal waters. Some particles travel directly over land to a watercourse. Others can be retained, transformed or partly removed by a drainage or treatment system; the fraction reaching a particular water body varies with local design and weather.
A Defra-hosted announcement from 27 May 2020 described two broad routes to the sea: transport through the atmosphere, or transport with rainwater into rivers and sewers. It reported a study estimate that around 100 million square metres of the UK river network and more than 50 million square metres of estuarine and coastal waters could be at risk of tyre-particle contamination. “At risk” is an estimated area, not a measurement showing that every square metre is contaminated or ecologically damaged.
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4. The scale is large but estimates are location-specific
The UK Environment Agency’s 18 July 2025 summary says that tens of thousands of tonnes of tyre-wear particles are thought to be released to the UK environment each year. EPA’s 2023 report relays a 2021 study estimate that approximately 85% of microplastics identified in waterways were tyre-wear particles. That percentage comes from a particular study and sampling approach; it should not be treated as the proportion in every waterway.
What chemicals are in tyre particles?
Tyre formulations differ by product, manufacturer and country. A particle can contain the original rubber matrix and additives, plus material acquired from the road. The chemical composition therefore changes with tyre type, age, driving conditions and the surrounding roadway.
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6PPD and 6PPD-quinone
Tyres use 6PPD to slow damage caused by ozone and other reactive oxygen species. In air, ozone can react with 6PPD and produce 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q). When rain washes tyre-derived material from hard surfaces into streams, aquatic organisms can encounter the resulting chemical in stormwater.
EPA’s 6PPD-quinone information page and its 7 August 2024 overview describe evidence from a 2021 Science publication linking 6PPD-q in stormwater with coho-salmon mortality. Lethal concentrations were observed after exposures lasting a few hours. EPA also notes that other fish species have since been identified as vulnerable. This is a specific chemical-and-species hazard; it does not mean that every tyre particle, additive or runoff sample has the same toxicity.
Other substances are being prioritised
The UK Environment Agency assessed 61 tyre-related substances in its 2025 prioritisation. Fourteen were classed “of concern,” 29 “of potential concern,” 14 “lower concern” and four “not assessable” because data were lacking. Twenty substances were taken into a further risk-based assessment. The agency’s modelling identified freshwater and freshwater sediment as the most sensitive environmental compartments.
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| 2025 UK Environment Agency classification | Number of substances | How to interpret it |
|---|---|---|
| Of concern | 14 | Prioritised for potential environmental concern; not a blanket finding of demonstrated harm at typical exposures. |
| Of potential concern | 29 | Additional information or assessment is warranted. |
| Lower concern | 14 | Lower priority in that screening exercise, not proof of zero impact. |
| Not assessable | 4 | Insufficient data for the agency to classify them. |
How do tyre particles affect aquatic life?
The clearest documented effect is the acute toxicity of 6PPD-q to sensitive fish exposed through stormwater. Coho salmon can die after short exposures to concentrations reported in the 2021 study cited by EPA. The chemical can enter a stream during a rain event even though the original 6PPD was applied to a dry tyre months or years earlier.
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Potential effects also depend on timing. A first flush after a dry period may carry accumulated residue; a large storm can dilute or redistribute it; and treatment infrastructure can change the amount reaching a receiving water. Monitoring must therefore account for rainfall, traffic, drainage and sediment as well as the chemical concentration in a single sample.
Does tyre pollution harm people?
At present, the human-health answer is uncertain rather than reassuring or alarmist. EPA’s 2023 report says the extent to which tyre particles may affect people through ingestion and other routes is unknown. Its 2024 overview calls for toxicity studies, longer-term investigations and better emissions data. EPA’s 6PPD-q page likewise identifies gaps in information about emissions, environmental fate, transport and human-health effects.
Aquatic toxicity does not, by itself, prove a human disease risk. The coho-salmon finding involves a particular species, chemical and exposure scenario; it cannot be converted into a human dose or diagnosis without toxicology and exposure data. Ordinary exposure levels for people near roads have not been quantified sufficiently to support a population-risk estimate in the sources cited here.
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Nor can a generic air-quality reading identify tyre particles specifically. Roadside particulate matter can combine tyre wear, brake wear, road-surface wear and resuspended dust. Chemical markers and validated sampling methods are needed to distinguish those sources.
How is tyre wear different from other traffic pollution?
Tyre wear is one part of non-exhaust traffic pollution. Brake wear and resuspended road dust are separate, overlapping sources; exhaust emissions are a different pathway again. It is therefore misleading to label every roadside PM2.5 measurement as tyre pollution.
The UK Department for Transport added a second phase to its brake- and tyre-wear measurement project on 13 November 2025. That phase tests measurement prototypes on vehicles in laboratory and on-road conditions. A separate DfT report published on 30 December 2025 examines fine particulate matter from road wear and dust resuspension, including measurement and abatement needs. These projects reflect a field still developing its methods, not a final accounting of each source’s share.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What can reduce tyre pollution?
Available responses fall into three intervention points. None should be presented as a proven consumer product that eliminates roadway tyre pollution.
| Intervention point | Examples under development or assessment | Current evidence position |
|---|---|---|
| At the source | Lower-concern anti-degradants, different rubber formulations and tyre designs. | EPA reports work to develop and commercialise lower-concern technologies; performance and full environmental trade-offs remain under study. |
| During transport | Green infrastructure, stormwater treatment, catch-basin inserts, filters and redesigned roadside drainage. | EPA and UK sources discuss these as management or research options. Effectiveness depends on local design, maintenance and particle size. |
| After release | Hotspot monitoring, sediment management and ecological-risk assessment. | Better emissions and receiving-water data are needed to target actions and verify results. |
Source and product changes
Changing tyre chemistry could reduce formation of particularly hazardous transformation products, but a replacement additive must still protect the tyre and avoid creating a different environmental problem. EPA describes development and potential commercialisation of lower-concern rubber anti-degradant technologies; the available material does not establish a universally available product or a guaranteed reduction for drivers.
Stormwater and green infrastructure
Capturing particles before they enter a stream is a practical focus because roads concentrate the material and rain provides a predictable transport event. EPA’s 2023 waterways report records discussion of stormwater best-management practices, catch-basin inserts and filters, while EPA’s broader material calls for research to identify hotspots and prioritise treatment designs. Green infrastructure may include vegetated areas or other systems that slow and filter runoff, but performance must be measured for tyre particles rather than assumed from performance on unrelated pollutants.
Monitoring and standards
Authorities need consistent definitions, sampling methods and reporting units before they can compare a busy motorway with a residential street or evaluate a treatment system. Measuring both particles and chemicals such as 6PPD-q, across dry periods and storms, can reveal whether an intervention changes actual ecological exposure.
What can an individual do?
- Reduce unnecessary vehicle travel where practical; fewer tyre-road interactions means fewer opportunities for abrasion, although the cited sources do not quantify the reduction for an individual driver.
- Do not assume a household air purifier or water filter is designed to remove roadway tyre particles or 6PPD-q. No source cited here establishes such a consumer device as a solution.
- Support local authorities that publish stormwater plans, monitor receiving waters or maintain road-drainage systems. Municipal capture and treatment operate at the pathway where particles are concentrated.
- When discussing the issue, distinguish measured tyre wear from the broader category of road dust and non-exhaust particulate matter. Clear source attribution improves both public decisions and future monitoring.
What remains unknown?
Several questions are still open: how much material different tyre types release under different driving conditions; what fraction is rubber versus road mineral; how long particles persist in air, soil and sediment; which species and life stages are most sensitive; and what stormwater designs remove the relevant particle sizes and chemicals. Human exposure through inhalation, ingestion and contact also needs better measurement and long-term toxicology.
Professor Richard Thompson OBE, quoted in Defra’s 27 May 2020 announcement, captured the state of knowledge: “Scientists have long suspected that tyre debris is posing a hidden threat to the marine environment. However, there have been few studies measuring abundance in aquatic environments. Now that we have a clearer indication on quantities we need to gain a better understanding on transport in the environment and the potential impacts on marine life.” He also said: “This study gives us a real insight into the importance of tyre wear as a source of microplastics. However there are still many unknowns, and compared with other forms of microplastics we know relatively little about tyre wear particles.”
The most defensible conclusion is therefore specific: tyre wear is a substantial, mobile non-exhaust pollutant; 6PPD-q is an established acute hazard for sensitive aquatic species under documented stormwater exposures; and the scale and consequences of routine human exposure remain unresolved. Better measurement, safer chemistry and effective roadside drainage are the routes most likely to turn that knowledge into prevention.
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