Tire chemical ban overview:
- Who: Three tribes have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to prohibit the manufacture, use and distribution of a chemical used to prevent tire degradation.
- Why: A byproduct of the tire chemical 6PPD allegedly kills salmon and may pose health risks to humans.
- Where: The tire chemical ban petition was sent to the EPA in Washington, D.C.
Three tribes have filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency seeking a tire chemical ban over concerns a byproduct of the chemical is affecting West Coast salmon populations, Law360 reports.
On Aug. 1, the Yurok Tribe, the Port Gamble SโKlallam Tribe and the Puyallup Tribe of Indians filed a citizen petition under section 21 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) asking the EPA to establish regulations prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, use and distribution of a chemical called 6PPD, a chemical that has reportedly been used as an antioxidant and antiozonant to prevent tire degradation.
โIt is highly reactive, and by design transforms at the surface of the tire or when released into the environment into transformation products or byproducts, including 6PPD-quinone or โ6PPD-q,โโ the petition says.
According to the tire chemical ban petition, 6PPD-q is one of the most toxic chemicals to aquatic species ever evaluated by the EPA.
โThe only chemical more toxic to aquatic species โ the chemical war agent parathionโhas been widely banned due to its toxicity and is no longer on the market in the United States,โ the petition asserts.
Tire chemical ban necessary for EPA salmon protection, tribes say
The tribes claim exposure to 6PPD-q is responsible for โurban runoff mortality syndrome,โ which can reportedly kill coho salmon within hours and kill as much as 100% of coho salmon returning to spawn in urban streams.
They allege 6PPD-q is โubiquitousโ in the environment, including stormwater runoff, urban watersheds, sediments, soils and road and household dust. It is also allegedly present in pregnant womenโs urine.
6PPD-q was only recently discovered, the tribes claim, but it is allegedly undermining โWashington Stateโs billion-dollar effort to recover salmon in Puget Sound.โ
Recent studies have suggested 6PPD-q may also pose a risk to human health.
The tribes argue the TSCA was intended to address toxic effects from chemicals such as 6PPD-q and urged the EPA to take action.
โWe have suffered years of reduced fishing, now only seeing hours of fishing where there used to be months of fishing,โ the Puyallup Tribal Council said in a statement, according to Law360. โThe discovery that 6PPD is killing the fish in these waters could be exactly what saves salmon for us and all of the country.โ
In 2019, the Spokane Tribe of Indians filed a lawsuit alleging the Columbia River hydroelectric dam has affected salmon migration and contributed to climate change.
What do you think about the tribesโ EPA salmon petition? Let us know in the comments below.
The tribes are represented by Elizabeth Forsyth and Katherine OโBrien of Earthjustice.
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