Florida tire chemical research<\/p>\n
What we know<\/p>\n
Florida International University Assistant Research Professor Kassidy Troxell is leading a study on 6PPD, a chemical added to tires to extend their lifespan. As tires wear down, rain events wash tiny tire dust particles into nearby rivers, canals and bays.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/feee557d8354532cb1d0ed04ed93b294.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n
The chemical transforms into a compound called 6PPD-Q, which is highly toxic to some Pacific Northwest salmon species. To understand its local footprint, Troxell and the Ocean Conservancy spent 10 months collecting 50 water samples along the 60-mile river, spanning from the Green Swamp to Hillsborough Bay.<\/p>\n
Urban stormwater contamination<\/p>\n
By the numbers<\/p>\n
The Environmental Protection Agency benchmark for 6PPD-Q is 11 nanograms per liter. A water sample collected near downtown Tampa measured around 12 nanograms per liter, exceeding that baseline.<\/p>\n
The 10-month study analyzed 50 distinct water samples along the roughly 60-mile span of the river. The highest concentrations appeared in urban areas near stormwater outfalls after long dry periods were followed by heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/0ece1a7e85c054d6061fa55ec6c3ad1b.jpeg\"\/)
Regional environmental impact<\/p>\n
Why you should care<\/p>\n
While the 12 nanograms per liter reading near Tampa is not a major concern yet, researchers say addressing it now is vital. Tracking how these chemical particles move through watersheds will help experts protect vulnerable Florida species and aquatic ecosystems.<\/p>\n
Next research phase<\/p>\n
What’s next<\/p>\n
The next phase of the university study begins in September, when the research team will collect additional water samples. Scientists are also developing a potential treatment using sargassum-based biochar to actively filter and remove the pollutants from the water.<\/p>\n
The Source<\/p>\n
The information in this story was gathered from Florida International University Assistant Research Professor Kassidy Troxell, who explained her 10-month water quality study, as well as an interview conducted by FOX 13 reporter Jennifer Kveglis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief A Florida International University researcher is studying whether a toxic tire chemical is polluting the Hillsborough…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[6184,2846,54316,8650,137319,135,137,136,137318],"class_list":["post-332784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-downtown-tampa","tag-florida-international-university","tag-hillsborough-bay","tag-hillsborough-river","tag-kassidy-troxell","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-water-samples"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}