Congress Must Stop 6PPD In Its Tracks
By: Waterkeeper Alliance
Join Our Urgent Call for Congress to Protect Our Waterways from the Highly Toxic 6PPD!
As communities nationwide grapple with the escalating effects of climate change and industrial pollution, there is increasing urgency to address the environmental dangers posed by a lesser-known but highly toxic chemical: 6PPD.
This organic compound is commonly used as a stabilizer in rubber production, particularly in tires found on virtually all vehicles, from cars to airplanes. Its byproduct, 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-q), is considered to be one of the most hazardous acute aquatic toxicants, causing severe harm to wildlife and humans through contamination of water sources. When tires wear down, particles containing 6PPD and 6PPD-q wash into stormwater systems, ultimately contaminating nearby rivers and streams.
The threats of 6PPD and 6PPD-q are sparking increasing concern across the nation. From Washington and California to Oklahoma, Illinois, and North Carolina, these chemicals are wreaking havoc on life-giving waterways, fragile aquatic ecosystems, and critical fish species – not to mention putting our communities’ health and livelihoods in danger. 6PPD rubber chemical harms a range of fish and can be lethal to them within a matter of a few hours. The link between tires and their deadly impact on salmon and trout has only recently come to light, with the 2020 discovery of 6PPD-q. However, 6PPD has been in use since the 1960s and salmon and trout have been observed to be dying from runoff mortality syndrome since the 1990s.
This is a serious concern in states where the outdoor and fishing industry is a significant economic driver. Some of the impacted species that have been identified to date include coho salmon, chinook salmon, and rainbow trout, which are crucial to industries such as North Carolina’s fishing tourism and commercial trout farms as well as Oklahoma’s popular sportfishing. Angling in Oklahoma alone generates $1.8 billion in consumer spending, $106 million in state and local tax revenue, and 16,000 jobs. Similarly, in Washington, salmon are a keystone species that is essential for the ecosystem and survival of other important wildlife like orcas. It also supports the livelihoods of many people in the region. One example is the vulnerable wild salmon populations which provide 16,000 jobs and a massive $1.1 billion to local economies. It is increasingly clear that dangerous industry 6PPD and 6PPD-q pollution has serious economic consequences, and communities across the country simply cannot afford the threats that it poses to aquatic life, local economies, and irreplaceable water resources.
With so much at stake, it’s no wonder why impacted communities and states have been sounding the alarm. California has designated it as a priority chemical and California-based commercial fishing groups have pending litigation in federal court against tire manufacturers on the basis that 6PPD in tires violates protections offered by the Endangered Species Act. In Washington’s 10th District, the Puyallup Tribe and other Indigenous peoples have called on the federal government to ban these chemicals from car tires. Although these actions have prompted the United States Environmental Protection Agency to undertake research to better understand the dangers of 6PPD and 6PPD-q, we cannot wait to address this preventable damage to the environment and human health – action is needed now.
Solutions to stop the damage of 6PPD in its tracks are achievable with strong action and regulation from leaders in Congress. One way to significantly reduce how much 6PPD and 6PPD-q makes it into our water in the first place is to improve stormwater management so that source control, flow control, and runoff treatments are better equipped to stop the flow of these dangerous chemicals.
Given the current lack of alternatives for manufacturing durable and affordable tires without 6PPD, robust federal investment is also needed to accelerate transparent research into other reliable and safe options. Rather than allowing this public health and environmental crisis to worsen, Congress must take action to ultimately eliminate 6PPD from tire production as soon as viable alternatives are found.
With climate change already straining our water resources, communities and waterways will be even more vulnerable unless our leaders take concrete, common-sense steps to tackle the threats of 6PPD and 6PPD-q.
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