Acute toxicity of tire wear particles, leachates and toxicity identification evaluation of leachates to the marine copepod, Tigriopus japonicus

Tire wear particles (TWPs) have been characterized as microplastics in recent years, and many of these TWPs will be eventually deposited in coastal areas, leading to adverse effects to marine organisms. Results of the acute toxicity test in this study showed that the 96-h LC50 values of the particles and leachate were 771.4 mg/L (95% CI = 684.4–869.6 mg/L) and 5.34 g/L (95% CI = 4.75–6.07 g/L), respectively. The chemical constituents of TWP and the leachate are very complex, and little research has been conducted to determine which of these constituents contribute to the toxicity of TWP leachate to marine organisms. Therefore, the composition of the TWP and leachate was analyzed, and a variety of chemicals were identified, including metals (Mn, Zn, etc.) and organic compounds (cyclohexanthiol, 4-ethyl-1,2-dimethylbenzene, benzothiazole, stearic acid, N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine, etc.). In addition, the marine copepod Tigriopus japonicus was applied as a model species in the toxicity identification evaluation study to characterize, identify and confirm the toxicity-causing substances in the TWP leachate. Zn was identified and confirmed as the main toxicant contributing to the toxicity. Furthermore, Zn concentrations in the leachate over time were investigated. The release of Zn from TWPs to the aquatic environment was slow, and conformed to a parabolic model with a release constant k of 2.06. The organic component, benzothiazole, exhibited an antagonistic effect with zinc in the acute toxicity of the TWP leachate.