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[Portal ID #2001]

Evaluating 6PPD in the Environment

Summary of the project

The Environmental Assessment Program at Washington Department of Ecology is conducting 6PPD-quinone (6-PPDQ) research and monitoring to understand the impacts on aquatic life. Trace amounts of 6-PPDQ cause coho salmon mortality within hours of exposure. Ecology and university partners are conducting additional tire chemical toxicity studies on other resident aquatic life while seeking safer alternatives to 6PPD in tires. Ecology and partners are conducting sampling surveys of critical areas, such as small urban streams and wetlands, to understand where 6-PPDQ is limiting biological recovery of urban watersheds. The sampling results will be used to locate toxic reduction corrective actions.

GOAL: The toxics ecosystem assessment data will be used to locate corrective actions to protect aquatic life from road runoff within priority watersheds. Priority watersheds refer to those chosen by regional community and technical advisory groups.

BONUS: These efforts will provide critical baseline data that can monitor the success of our corrective actions.

Toxics Ecosystem Assessment Plan for 6-PPDQ 

  • 2025- continue 6-PPDQ ecosystem assessments to identify vulnerable aquatic ecosystems impacted by urban road runoff and integrate data into ongoing stormwater mapping and modeling efforts.
  • 2024 - began to implement the toxics ecosystem assessment strategies to verify critical areas of concern using 6-PPDQ as an urban runoff proxy.
  • 2023 - conducted method developement, stream reconnaissance, and evaluated priority watersheds mapping strategies. 
  • 2022 - convened salmon and mapping domain experts who developed mapping strategies to identify priority watersheds.

2025

Toxics Ecosystem Assessments Plan

  • Technical memos will be published for provisional studies.
  • The integrated urban watershed study will continue; stream water quality and quanity (flow) and 6-PPDQ concentrations are measured at 2 hour intervals for 24 hours during storm events to correlate the persistence and peak concentrations of 6-PPDQ persists with stream biological indicators. The relationship could be applied to Ecology's Watershed Health Program and local communities that use a standardized metric for biological health (B-IBI).
  • Source idenfication assessments will continue that compare 6-PPDQ mass loadings among streams in priority watersheds, these surveys are a joint effort with many partners.
  • 6-PPDQ in marine sediment samples will be collected throughout the Puget Sound as an indicator of urban runoff impacts.
  • Science staff will continue to participate in interstate, tribal and federal coordination groups and build collaborative relationships with partners.
  • Science staff will continue to provide technical guidance for funded 6-PPDQ projects and WA Tribes. 

2024

Toxics Ecosystem Assessments - QA/QC Planning & Products

  • Tire Contaminant Storymap was completed and published.
  • An interactive 6-PPDQ in Watersheds Risk webmap was developed and available online to help visualize areas with greater traffic, runoff and critical areas of concern.
  • A small stream survey was conducted with USGS and King County to compare 6-PPDQ mass loading with other small urban streams.
  • An integrated urban watershed study began aimed to help us understand the persistence of 6-PPDQ throughout a storm among seasons and land uses.
  • Provided on-demand technical training to Tribal partners to support their sampling efforts.
  • Published a sampling 6-PPDQ in receiving waters SOP that was reviewed by subject matter experts.

2023

6-PPDQ Field and Lab Method Development & Verification

2022

Priority Watershed Assessment Strategies Proviso Work - Brainstorming, Sharing & Summarizing

An urban road runoff technical advisory committee shared research updates, prioritized data gaps, and developed strategies to visualize and focus where 6-PPDQ is impacting vulnerable aquatic life. A summary of recommendations and current knowledge was published in a 6PPD in Road Runoff Legislative Report. This process of evaluating the current knowledge regarding the impact of tire contaminants on aquatic life helped galnanize pro-active state, tribal and federal working groups to address the tire contaminant problem. Please find the a list of the presentations for each meeting below and the final report that also included an evaluation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to implement at locations where 6-PPDQ is impacting vulnerable species.

6PPD Road Runoff Assessment and Mitigation Strategies Legislative Report Final

Summary of Recommendations from Report

Identifying Priority Areas for Corrective Actions to Reduce Urban Runoff Impacts to Aquatic Life

  • Integration of urban stream and wetland quality and quantity will accelerate recovery of aquatic ecosystems.
  • To identify where to protect species and habitats from urban runoff, we need to know where and when they are being exposed to 6-PPDQ.
  • 6-PPDQ peak concentrations in urban small streams and wetlands should be used as a metric for project prioritizations. 
  • Tribal Treaty Rights is a priority.
  • Human health benefits is a priority.
  • Protecting and restoring small streams and coho salmon habitat is a priority. 
  • Toxicity studies of additional Washington resident aquatic life is a priority data gap. 
  • The fate and transport of 6-PPDQ in the evironment is a priority data gap.

Evaluating Stormwater Best Management Practices that Reduces 6-PPDQ in Urban Runoff

Several strategies were identified to be, most likely, effective at reducing the discharge of 6-PPDQ to receiving waters: 

  • Source control BMPs, for example street sweeping and line cleaning 
  • Structural BMPs that that mimic natural filtration processes and minimize impervious surfaces, for example, green infrastructure, low impact development, and emerging technologies.

Status of Recommendations from Report

Identifying Priority Areas for Corrective Actions to Reduce Urban Runoff Impacts to Aquatic Life

  • Stormwater SIL funded local entities to conduct local 6-PPDQ prioritizations, EAP science staff have provided technical guidance and logistical support.
  • MTCA funds were awarded to Ecology to evaluate sampling methods, develop analytical lab methods and a study design to assess 6-PPDQ in urban waterways, and fund UW-Tacoma to evaluate fate and transport data gaps.
  • Continued MTCA funds are being requested for the toxics ecosystem assessments.
  • UW-Tacoma has since received funding from other Ecology/EPA funding programs.
  • A project to inventory and integrate stream and wetland habitat quality and quantity for each salmon recovery watershed has not been funded.

Evaluating Stormwater BMPs that reduces 6-PPD in road runoff

  • Stormwater SIL and other stormwater funding programs have invested in research to evaluate BMP effectiveness
  • MTCA funds were awarded to Ecology to fund additional BMP effectiveness studies.
  • Project list and status are available on the Stormwater 6-PPDQ funding site.
  • Biochar, in particular, has been highlighted as an effective media for reducing 6-PPDQ in runoff and avoiding coho salmon mortality. 
  • The benefits and cost of street sweeping is still being evaluated.

6-PPDQ Priority Watershed Technical Advisory Committee Meetings - Domain Experts Input

May 18, 2022

Presentations

Welcome and 6PPD Perspectives
Rhea Smith
Environmental Assessment Program (EAP), WA Ecology
 
Toxic stormwater threats to Puget Sound at the watershed and landscape scales: priority information gaps for the recovery of ESA-listed species
Nat Scholz
NOAA fisheries
 
Addressing URMS Data Gaps - a View from the Field
Jamie Glasgow
Wild Fish Conservancy
 
WDFW's High Resolution Land Cover program and alternatives
Ken Pierce
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW)
 
Evaluating 6PPD Alternatives
Craig Manahan
Hazardous Waste and Toxic Reduction, WA Ecology
 
Evaluating 6PPD BMPs
Brandi Lubliner
Water Quality Program, WA Ecology

May 10, 2022 - GIS Expert Workshop

Presentations

Mapping and Data visualizations update
Rhea Smith
Environmental Assessment Program, WA Ecology 

March 30, 2022

Presentations

Tire Wear Particles and associated chemicals in the environment
Dr. Thorsten Reemsta
Centre for Environmental Research, UFZ, Germany
 
Occurence of 6PPD-quinone in cold-climate urban runoff and acute toxicity to four fishes of commercial, recreational, and cultural relevance
Dr. Markus Hecker
University of Saskatchewan, Canada
 
Examining the direct and indirect impacts of anthropogenic stressors on stream macroinvertebrate communities at multiple spatial scales: a structural equation modeling approach
Chad Larson
Environmental Assessment Program, WA Ecology
 
WDFW's Fish Passage Barrier Inventory & Assessment Program - An Overview
Christy Rains
Species & Habitat Program, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
 
Analyzying and applying cost information in restoration planning
Braeden Van Deynze, University of Washington School of Marine and Environmental Affairs
 
VELMA model green insfrastructure applications for reducing 6PPD-quinone concentrations in Puget Sound urban streams
Bob McKane and Jonathan Halama, EPA Region 10
 

March 7, 2022

Presentations

6PPD Science Updates & Welcome
Rhea Smith, WA Ecology
 
Salmon Recovery and Toxic Road Runoff
David Troutt, Nisqually Indian Tribe
 
Statewide Intergrated Fish Distribution (SWIFD) and Salmonscape Web Maps
Ron McFarlane (NWIFC) & Arlene Agune (WDFW) & Tyson Waldo (NWIFC)
 
Salmon Recovery Project Prioritization
Tim Beechie, NOAA fisheries
 
Beavers, Salmon rearing, Toxic reservoirs and Water flow
Jennifer Vanderhoof, King County

February 23, 2022

Presentations

6PPD Spatial Technical Advisory Committee and Legislative Report Overview
Rhea Smith, EAP, WA Ecology
 
Prioritizing Conservation Actions in Urbanizing Landscapes
Ailene Ettinger, Washington Nature Conservancy
 
Stormwater Heatmap
Christian Nilsen, Geosyntec & Washington Nature Conservancy
 
Watershed Characterization Project
Colin Hume, WA Ecology
 
Road Runoff Reduction Plans & GIS Road Metrics
Tony Bush and Keisha Chinn, Washington Department of Transportation 
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