What has TIP-sponsored research revealed about any potential environmental impacts of TRWP?
The peer-reviewed studies we have sponsored to date have found TRWP are unlikely to pose significant risk to human health and the environment; however, we are mindful of an evolving scientific understanding of TRWP, including some research that has reached different conclusions, so we continue to support independent research to improve the knowledge base.
Early TIP-sponsored studies have shown some potential for toxicity for TRWP, but few studies have evaluated the toxicity of TRWP 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 sponsored research into the toxicity of TRWP to freshwater – and freshwater-sediment-dwelling organisms.
In these studies, limited toxicity was observed on test species, indicating that under typical exposure conditions TRWP in sediments pose a low risk of toxicity to aquatic organisms.
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