suggest the fish is already close to extinction, with its population plunging from as high as 500,000 fish in the 1940s to a few thousand currently. While generally more abundant in Washington State, the population of wild coho salmon was estimated to have plunged to around 200,000, a third of the level of 2021, according to
6PPD, a preservative in vehicle tires, keeps them from breaking down too quickly but reacts with ozone and is transformed into multiple chemicals, including a toxic chemical that researchers found is responsible for killing coho salmon.“The latest estimate of the total amount of tire dust created every year worldwide is 6 million tons,” said Nick Molden, CEO and founder of Emissions Analytics, an independent automotive research firm based in Oxford, England.
The story’s the same at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s scientific divisions are looking into the matter and collaborating with “other research groups to make new measurements of emissions from vehicle brake and tire wear,” said spokeswoman Dominique Joseph. “This data will eventually be included in EPA modeling tools.”the agency issued this month didn’t reference tire dust, focusing instead on particles from sources such as smokestacks, vehicle tailpipes and power plants.
“People might just write off coho and say, ‘Maybe we don’t need coho.’ But we’ve been studying stormwater runoff for a couple of decades and our research shows the next most sensitive salmon is steelhead, and then the next most sensitive is Chinook,” McIntyre said. “Other studies are also showing both of those species have some sensitivity. Others that look like they're sensitive are brook trout.
She said USTMA, which estimates the tire industry’s annual economic impact is $171 billion, supports California’s move to identify tires with 6PPD as a priority product to start the process of finding potential replacements. But she didn’t say whether manufacturers have identified promising 6PPD substitutes or when they might arrive.Working with scientists including Ed Kolodziej at the University of Washington and researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S.
“Our office is still evaluating next steps, including the possibility of legislation,” Porter said. “I am committed to being a partner to state, local and tribal communities in their work to protect and revitalize the coho salmon population.”
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