Project Description
Highway surface runoff often contains a wide range of chemical pollutants from tyre wear that are transported from road surfaces to receiving waters following rainfall. A recent US study has reported the presence of a highly toxic quinone transformation product of N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N′-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD), an antioxidant used in tyres which is highly toxic to coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in highways run-off. This is one of many recent studies on the presence of a cocktail of toxic pollutants originating from tyre wear that adversely affects the chemical and ecological quality of natural waters.
This project will undertake a complete chemical characterisation of the presence of toxic pollutants originating from tyre wear which include microplastics, heavy metals and rubber derivatives. Furthermore the study will identify the hundreds of toxic chemicals in tyre wear particles that remain unknown. The study will utilise analytical techniques including high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-QTOF), ICP-MS and GCMS/MS alongside a battery of toxicological assays to elucidate the identity of components of tyre wear particles that remain unknown. The project will inform policy makers of the harm of untreated highways runoff, it will involve extensive fieldwork and laboratory analysis to identify the composition, fate and remediation of stormwater chemical pollution and is expected to make a significant contribution to solving an emerging ecological crisis.
Research themes
Environmental Hazards & Pollution
Project Specific Training
The student will receive training on a number of sampling and analytical techniques. Specifically this will include training in High resolution Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ICPMS, GCMS, ICMSMS (by supervisory team) and in toxicological assays including microtox, CSE-119 (by environmental science technical team).
Potential Career Trajectory
The training and expertise gained will be invaluable for a research career within academia and within various industries and consultancies including the water industry, environment agency, National Highways, BGS in the UK. The skills would also be highly valuable for overseas appointments and for overseas students from developing countries to gain employment with overseas regulators, industrial companies and academic institutes.
Project supervisor/s
Professor Rakesh Kanda, Centre of Pollution Research and Policy, Brunel, rakesh.kanda@brunel.ac.uk, https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/rakesh-kanda
Dr Thomas Miller, Centre of Pollution Research and Policy, Brunel, Thomas.Miller@brunel.ac.uk, https://www.brunel.ac.uk/people/thomas-miller
Supervision balance: 75:25
