Ecological risk assessment of tire wear particles in water bodies in Interior British Columbia

Microplastic pollution is becoming an emerging environmental issue in developed countries. The tire wearing particles (TWP) have also been categorized as microplastic pollution. TWP size range from a few nanometers to several hundred micrometers and are emitted into the environment. Tire industry is now inclined towards increasing knowledge of TWP origin, mechanism, transmission, and fate in the environment along with their impacts on receiving water bodies. This study aims to identify commonly occurring TWPs and investigate their characteristics, exposure mechanism, and toxicities followed by ERA, to evaluate the impacts on aquatic environment. The project will facilitate in generating a reliable knowledgebase on physicochemical properties, fate and transport, and toxicities of TWP. This project will also increase awareness in identifying the knowledge gaps to perform more comprehensive studies on TWP impacts.

Faculty Supervisor:

Rehan Sadiq;Kasun Hewage

Student:

Haroon Mian

Partner:

Kal Tire

Discipline:

Engineering - other

Sector:

Consumer goods

University:

Program: