6PPD is a chemical that prevents automotive tires from degrading (i.e., breaking down) and helps them last longer. When 6PPD is exposed to air, it reacts with ozone to create 6PPD-quinone (also known as 6PPD-q). 6PPD-q is lethal to coho salmon and can contaminate water systems.

INTERESTING SOURCE NOTE:

Roadways have largely been the focus of research into how a tire preservative ends up killing coho salmon, but a study out of British Columbia points to another ubiquitous and long-lasting source of the pollutant.

Many of our football, soccer and other sports fields feature crumb rubber – old tires that have been ground up – which makes the fields softer as well as easier for school districts and parks departments to maintain versus grass, but in doing so they leach what’s known as 6PPD-quinone into nearby waters or storm systems.

See Complete Article: Sports Fields Eyed As Another Source Of Coho-killing Contaminant