Rubber pollution

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/rubber-pollution

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the primary anthropogenic source?Abrasion of vehicle tires, releasing millions of tons of particles annually
2. What is the particle composition?Complex mixture of polymers, carbon black, and additives
3. What is rubber pollution and tire wear particles?Rubber pollution is tiny bits of rubber that come from tires and other sources. Tire wear particles are small pieces that are released when vehicle tires rub against the road.
4. Why do rubber particles travel far from where they start?Because they are very small, wind can carry them through the air and water can move them in rivers and oceans, so they can end up far from their original spot.

Tire Wear Particles (TWPs): Microscopic fragments shed from vehicle tires during use, a major source of rubber pollution.
Atmospheric Deposition: The process by which particles suspended in the air settle onto surfaces.
Biomagnification: The increasing concentration of a substance, such as a toxin, in organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.