US reviews tire chemical that killed salmon

[New Sancai Compilation First Release] U.S. regulators say they will review the use of a chemical found in nearly every tire after a West Coast Native American tribe petitioned to ban the chemical because it Kill salmon returning from the ocean to their natal streams to spawn.

The Yurok Tribe of California and the Scralam and Puyallup Tribes of Port Gamble, Washington, asked the EPA earlier this year to ban the rubber preservative 6PPD, saying it was used when rain washes fish from roads into rivers. The substance can kill fish, especially coho salmon (a species of salmon). Washington, Oregon, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut also wrote to the EPA saying the chemical posed an "unreasonable threat" to their waters and fisheries.

The agency decided last week to approve the petition, the start of a lengthy regulatory process that could lead to a ban on the chemical. Tire manufacturers are already looking for alternatives that still meet federal safety requirements.

“We cannot stand idly by while 6PPD kills the fish we depend on,” Joseph L. James, chairman of the Yurok Tribe, told The Associated Press. "This deadly toxin has no place in any salmon-rich watershed."

6PPD has been used as a tire rubber preservative for 60 years. It is also found in footwear, artificial turf and playground equipment.

When tires wear out, tiny rubber particles remain on roads and parking lots. The chemical breaks down into a byproduct, 6PPD-quinone, which is lethal to salmon, steelhead trout and other aquatic wildlife. Coho salmon seem to be particularly sensitive. The tribe believed it could kill them within hours.

Salmon are important to the diets and culture of tribes in the Pacific Northwest and California, who have struggled for decades to protect dwindling fish stocks from climate change, pollution, development and dams that block their spawning grounds.

The chemical's effects on coho salmon were noticed in 2020 by scientists in Washington state, who were studying why populations of coho salmon that had been restored in Puget Sound years ago were declining.

"This is an important first step in regulating damaging chemicals that have been in the environment for decades," said Elizabeth Forsyth, an attorney with Earthjustice Environmental Lawyers, which represents the tribes. She called it "unknown to the world." one of the biggest environmental problems."

The American Tire Manufacturers Association said in a statement that it is conducting an analysis to identify alternatives to 6PPD that can meet federal safety standards, but no alternatives have been found.

"Any premature ban on the use of 6PPD in tires would harm public safety and the national economy," the statement read.

The Puyallup Tribal Council called the EPA's decision "a victory for salmon and all species and people."

The agency plans to begin gathering additional information to inform proposed regulations in the fall of 2024. It also plans to require manufacturers and importers of 6PPD to report unpublished health and safety studies by the end of 2024. There is no time limit for the final decision.

"The populations of these salmon and other fish have declined dramatically over the years. Addressing 6PPD-quinone in the environment and using its parent 6PPD is one way we can reverse this trend," said Assistant Professor Michal Freedhoff. Administrators from the EPA's Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention said in a statement.

The EPA notes that the chemical's effects on human health are unknown.

Suanne Brander, an associate professor and ecotoxicologist at Oregon State University, called the decision a significant step but warned that the deadly effects on salmon could go beyond just 6PPD. She said she's also concerned about what chemical tire manufacturers end up using to replace it.

"As someone who has been studying chemicals and microplastics for a while, my concern is that what we're really focusing on is the chemical, but ultimately, it's the mixture," she said. "Fish are exposed to many different chemicals at the same time, which is concerning."

(Compiled by: Wang Jimin)

(Editor: Jiang Qiming)

(Source of the article: First published by Xinsancai)