Tire Wear Toxin Workshop

Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxicants – 6PPDQ Workshop 2026

The third and final workshop, Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxicants – 6PPDQ Workshop 2026, was hosted in Nanaimo, BC on February 18 – 19, 2026.

Day 1 (February 18) was focused on what is currently known about 6PPDQ. Presentations were provided by researchers from across the Pacific Northwest regarding ongoing research initiatives and next steps to begin addressing current knowledge gaps. The afternoon welcomed local First Nations and stewardship group representatives involved in 6PPDQ and water monitoring initiatives to share their experience, including successes, challenges, and opportunities that have come from their work. The final portion of the day had some of the poster presenters providing five-minute overviews of their research project to promote their work and generate traffic at their poster in the session that followed.

Day 2 (February 19) discussed research investigating the efficacy of green stormwater infrastructure treatment options and their ability to mitigate 6PPDQ. The latter half of the morning had presenters from streamkeepers, eNGOs, and consultants sharing different 6PPDQ mitigation strategies (i.e., bioretention systems, highly efficient filtration medias, and proposed policy changes). The afternoon of day 2 was set aside for a breakout session that had participants discussing key takeaways from the workshop, existing knowledge gaps, potential solutions, and identification of tools and/or partnerships needed to implement solutions for one of five topics.

In addition to the summary report, the Tire Wear Toxicant Toolkit was developed in anticipation of the final workshop to share with attendees:

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Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxicants – 6PPDQ Workshop 2025

The second workshop, Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxicants – 6PPDQ Workshop 2025, was hosted in Nanaimo, BC on May 8 – 9, 2025.

Day 1 (May 8) was focused in the morning on 6PPDQ policy and on engineering and solutions in the afternoon. We had leading 6-PPDQ research scientists, Dr. Jen McIntyre (Washington State University), provide an overview of the discovery of 6-PPDQ’s impacts and discuss the work her team is doing now.

Day 2 (May 9) started with a presentation by Dr. Ed Kolodziej, discussing the 6PPDQ research that his team has been working on for the past five years, including what they’ve been doing more recently. Following the keynote, presentations for the second day were focused on monitoring and lessons learned, as well as toxicology.

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Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxicants – 6PPDQ Workshop 2024

The first workshop, Protecting Salmon From Tire Wear Toxins – 6PPDQ Workshop 2024, was hosted in Nanaimo, BC on April 29 – 30, 2024.

Day 1 (April 29) was directed towards the public, where an overview of 6-PPDQ and current, local and regional research initiatives will be discussed. We had leading 6-PPDQ research scientists, Ed Kolodziej (University of Washington) and Markus Brinkmann (University of Saskatchewan), provide an overview of the discovery of 6-PPDQ’s impacts and tire wear toxin research on both sides of the border. The first day was intended to be of general interest and an opportunity for all interested parties to meet, share, and learn.

Day 2 (April 30) had a more technical focus, where researchers discussed early results and identified current challenges and opportunities. There were presentations and panel discussions prepared by multiple research organizations, including Vancouver Island University’s Applied Environmental Research Lab, the University of British Columbia’s Department of Civil Engineering, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and more.