UBC-Led Initiative Protects Salmon Against Toxic Road Runoffs

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The roads, bridges and highways that crisscross B.C. take us where we want to go.

The roads, bridges and highways that crisscross B.C. take us where we want to go. Unfortunately, they also help leak a toxic chemical shed by car tires—6PPD-quinone—into B.C.’s waterways, posing a serious threat to salmon habitats.

A collaborative project led by UBC and its partners is working to identify and mitigate these toxic hot spots. The researchers are surveying ponds, creeks and streams across the Lower Mainland in hopes of building future rain gardens and other “green infrastructure” that can contain this toxin.

Dr. Rachel Scholes (she/her), assistant professor of civil engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Timothy Rodgers (he/him) discuss 6PPD-quinone and the role of rain gardens in defusing its impacts.

Read more at: University of British Columbia

The researchers are surveying ponds, creeks and streams across the Lower Mainland in hopes of building future rain gardens and other “green infrastructure” that can contain this toxic chemical shed by car tires. (Photo Credit: Dr. Timothy Rodgers)