What do your car tires and salmon have in common? A whole lot, as it turns out.

For years, coho salmon have been returning to Western Washington streams only to die unexplainably before they’re able to spawn, their bodies still full of eggs. Something in the water was killing 40-90% of coho.

Research began to narrow down the list of possible suspects, confirming suspicions that the primary cause was polluted runoff from our roads and highways. But that polluted runoff contains thousands of chemicals and presented researchers with a needle-in-a-haystack search.

Then, in 2020, scientists from UW and WSU solved the decades old mystery. They discovered the culprit to be a chemical, called 6-PPD-Q, in tire dust that is toxic to coho salmon and other aquatic life. This dust rubs off our tires when we drive, then gets washed to our creeks when it rains.

This discovery set off a flurry of activity and spawned hundreds of questions. Can’t we just take out the chemical? Can we filter the water before it gets to the creek? Are other fish impacted? How long does 6PPD last? Are their Salmon Safe tires?

The answers to many of these questions are complex. 6-PPD-Q is added to our tires to keep them from breaking down and can’t be easily or safely replaced in the near term. Which leaves many of us wondering – what can I do about it?

 

In addition to driving less, one of the easiest things we can to do help is to check our car tires monthly and add air if needed. Properly inflated tires:

• Create less tire dust
• Last longer
• Make your tires safer and your car handle better
• Improve gas mileage and save you money
• Protect our salmon and our streams

Here are some helpful tips for saving money, staying safe, and helping our salmon.

 

Tire experts recommend checking your tires monthly.

Always use a manual/digital gauge to check your tires. Don’t wait to see if the tire looks low and don’t rely on the low-pressure light to come on in your dashboard. When the tire pressure light comes on, it means a tire is already critically low.

Check the sticker on the inside of your driver side door for the right tire pressure.

Don’t mistake the pressure listed on the tire as the ideal tire pressure. That’s the max amount of air your tire can hold. Instead, check your owner’s manual or the sticker inside the driver’s side door for the ideal pressure.

Sign the Don’t Wait to Inflate Pledge and receive a free windshield reminder sticker.