Urban stormwater particles from tire wear were the most prevalent microplastic a new Griffith-led study has found. Published in Environmental Science & Technology, the study showed that in stormwater runoff during rain approximately 19 out of every 20 microplastics collected were tire wear particles with anywhere from 2 to 59 particles per liter of water.
“Pollution of our waterways by microplastics is an emerging environmental concern due to their persistence and accumulation in aquatic organisms and ecosystems,” said lead author Dr. Shima Ziajahromi, a research fellow at the Australian Rivers Institute.
Tire rubber contains up to 2,500 chemicals with the contaminants that leach from tires considered more toxic to bacteria and microalgae than other plastic polymers.