Scientists are expanding their efforts to establish the true abundance of tyre particles along the UK's rivers and coastlines, and any threats they might pose to both human and environmental health.
Researchers at the University of Plymouth first started looking into marine debris in the early 2000s, with tyres being one of the more recent focuses amid international reports that such particles could represent the most abundant form of microplastics in the ocean.
They have since published a number of groundbreaking studies - including reports for the UK Government - exploring the scale of the issue in the UK's rivers and oceans.
Thanks to a major project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the researchers are currently expanding this work to assess how far tyre particles can travel once they get from roads into our rivers and seas.
Working with colleagues across the UK, the researchers are also conducting pioneering studies examining how best to identify tyre particles amid the countless other forms of marine debris, and to examine any health risks they may create for wildlife and for humans if they are inhaled or ingested.
The ongoing work at the University is being led by its International Marine Litter Research Unit, whose scientists first established the presence of microplastics in the ocean in a seminal paper published in 2004.
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