What is 6PPD? How a Tire Chemical Harms Salmon - and Possibly Your Health (earthjustice.org)

In 2020, scientists discovered the culprit behind decades of mass salmon deaths in the Pacific Northwest: 6PPD, a chemical used in every tire vehicle in America that creates a toxic byproduct once it’s exposed to the environment. Known as 6PPD-Q, this toxic byproduct has been killing salmon for decades, decimating populations that support entire ecosystems, tribal lifeways, and the fishing industry economy. The tire industry knows that 6PPD-Q is a coho salmon killer yet has failed to commit to replacing it. In response, Earthjustice sued the tire industry, and we won’t back down until salmon are protected, as the law demands. What is 6PPD-Q? For decades, the tire industry has added the chemical 6PPD to its tires to help slow tire degradation. Once 6PPD is exposed to ozone in the air, it forms the chemical byproduct 6PPD-Q. Every time you go for a drive, your tires are shedding 6PPD-Q onto the road, which may eventually make its way into nearby streams that salmon use for spawning. Almost 300 million vehicles are registered in the U.S., each of them equipped with multiple tires that continuously shed tire waste particles when driven. Researchers estimate that each person in the U.S. creates roughly...