ACRP First Look: Understanding Impacts of Tire Anti-degradants 6PPD and 6PPD-Quinone at Airports

The ACRP is soliciting letters of interest from researchers to produce a white paper, known as an ACRP First Look, on tire anti-degradants 6PPD and 6PPS-quinone (6PPD-q) and their potential impacts on airports. ACRP recognizes that some topics are so new, or are evolving so quickly, that they may not be suitable for a traditional research effort. In these instances, ACRP uses an abbreviated research process to develop an ACRP First Look (typically 50 pages or fewer). ACRP First Looks provide the airport industry with context on quickly developing topics in a timely manner, typically within 6 months. Attention has recently focused on 6PPD and its formation product 6PPD-q since it has been linked to the mortality of select fish species in North American streams. 6PPD is an anti-degradant added to tires to prevent them from breaking down and helps them last longer. However, throughout the life of the tire, friction causes tire wear particles to be released into the environment. The 6PPD and 6PPD-q included in these tire wear particles are released to the atmosphere and roadways, where they enter bodies of water through surface runoff. Attention to the occurrence, fate, and transport of 6PPD and 6PPD-q to date has primarily focused on roadway impacts from cars and trucks. However, as these tire anti-degradants also are added to aircraft tires and the tires of ground service equipment operating at airports, they are expected to be present in stormwater runoff from airports. Furthermore, rubber from tires has frequently been identified in foreign object debris collected from impervious surfaces at airports, such as runways, taxiways, and aprons. Yet little focus has been on the prevalence and impacts of 6PPD and 6PPD-q and their sources at airports. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is currently developing a testing method for 6PPD-q, and regulations are anticipated in the near term, which could affect the management of stormwater and other media at airports. However, the scale of the potential impacts, technical challenges, and research needs that airport managers may face in monitoring and responding to 6PPD and 6PPD-q have not been fully explored. The objective of this research is to prepare an ACRP First Look that provides an overview of anti-tire degradants and their nexus with airports, including issues, potential challenges and opportunities, regulatory and legal context, and future needed research.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5801
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $50,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 11-09, Topic 02

• Sponsor Organizations:

  Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP)

  Transportation Research Board, 500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Aviation Administration

  800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20591
• Project Managers:

  Navarrete, Joseph

• Start Date: 20250515
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Airports; Environmental impacts; Inhibitors (Chemistry); Runoff; Tires; Water pollution
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Environment; Materials; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01926494
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 11-09, Topic 02
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Aug 5 2024 8:03PM