Kelly L. Smalling Paul M. Bradley Justin Blaine Greer Stephanie E. Gordon John D. Hansen Dana W. Kolpin Andrew R. Spanjer Jason R. Masoner Rachael F. Lane 2024 <p><span>The environmental ubiquity of tire and road wear particles (TRWP) underscores the need to understand the occurrence, persistence, and environmental effects of tire-related chemicals in&nbsp;aquatic ecosystems. One such chemical is 6PPD-quinone (6PPD-Q), a&nbsp;transformation product&nbsp;of the tire antioxidant 6PPD. In urban&nbsp;stormwater runoff&nbsp;6PPD-Q can exceed&nbsp;acute toxicity&nbsp;thresholds for several&nbsp;salmonid&nbsp;species and is being implicated in significant&nbsp;coho salmon&nbsp;losses in the Pacific Northwest. There is a critical need to understand the prevalence of 6PPD-Q across watersheds to identify habitats heavily affected by TRWPs. We conducted a&nbsp;reconnaissance&nbsp;of 6PPD and 6PPD-Q in&nbsp;surface waters&nbsp;across the United States from sites (N&nbsp;=&nbsp;94) with varying land use (urban, agricultural, and forested) and&nbsp;streamflow&nbsp;to better understand stream exposures. A rapid, low-volume direct-inject,&nbsp;liquid chromatography&nbsp;mass spectrometry method was developed for the quantitation of 6PPD-Q and screening for 6PPD. Laboratory holding times, bottle material, headspace, and filter materials were investigated to inform best practices for 6PPD-Q sampling and analysis. Glass bottles with PTFE-lined caps minimized&nbsp;sorption&nbsp;and borosilicate&nbsp;</span>glass fiber<span>&nbsp;filters provided the highest recovery. 6PPD-Q was stable for at least 5 months in pure laboratory solutions and for 75 days at 5&nbsp;°C with minimal headspace in the investigated surface water and&nbsp;stormwaters. Results also indicated samples can be frozen to extend holding times. 6PPD was not detected in any of the 526 analyzed samples and there were no detections of 6PPD-Q at agricultural or forested sites. 6PPD-Q was frequently detected in stormwater (57%, N&nbsp;=&nbsp;90) and from urban impacted sites (45%, N&nbsp;=&nbsp;276) with concentrations ranging from 0.002 to 0.29&nbsp;μg/L. The highest concentrations, above the lethal level for coho salmon, occurred during stormwater runoff events. This highlights the importance of capturing episodic runoff events in urban areas near ecologically relevant habitat or nursery grounds for sensitive species.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.142830 en Elsevier Tire-derived contaminants 6PPD and 6PPD-Q: Analysis, sample handling, and reconnaissance of United States stream exposures article