Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Pacific Northwest Forest Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)

The US Geological Survey’s Western Fisheries Research Center is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU Partner for research to provide a better understanding for the hazard relationships of the tire derived transformation product N-(1,3-dimethylbutyl)-N'-phenyl-p-phenylenediamine (6PPD)-quinone with that of other tire chemicals found in stormwater runoff. 6PPD-quinone is the causative agent for pre-spawn mortality of coho salmon in what is now referred to as Urban Runoff Mortality Syndrome (Tian et al. 2021, 2022). Little is known about the overall effects of tire-derived chemical mixtures that are found in stormwater on salmon health. This research is being conducted to understand potential synergistic effects of these chemicals of fish health. Research studies would include survival studies to understand the impact of environmentally measurable levels of tire-derived chemicals. This includes the ability to verify chemical concentrations so that they are consistent with environmentally measurable levels in stormwater. The second major component for addressing hazard relationships would be the inclusion of sublethal chemical exposure studies that could assess the relative fitness of salmon using swim performance studies or related methods.