√US fishing group sues tyre-makers for using poisonous chemicals

A chemical which makes rubber degrade slower has been linked to the deaths of rare fish, leading an environmental law firm to take action against the world’s tyre giants.

A pair of lobby groups for commercial fishing in the US have filed a lawsuit against more than a dozen tyre-makers in a California court, claiming a chemical in tyres is killing rare trout and salmon while violating the state’s strict environmental regulations.

News agency Reuters reports the Institute for Fisheries Resources (IFR) and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA) are suing 13 tyre companies – including industry giants Bridgestone, Continental, Goodyear and Michelin – in a San Francisco court earlier this week.

The groups – which represent commercial fishing companies in the US – claim a chemical used to reduce the degradation of tyres, known as 6PPD, is killing certain species of trout and salmon which live next to roads.

Recent research has shown 6PPD is toxic to coho salmon (or silver salmon), as well as brook trout and rainbow trout – with the depleted populations of the fish leading to restrictions on commercial fishing where they live.

The lawsuit, which Reuters reports was instigated by an environmental law firm, is understood to be the first targeting the use of 6PPD in the US, and is aimed at making tyre manufacturers first implement measures to protect the fish while temporarily banning the use of the chemical.

It comes less than a month after the US Environmental Protection Agency reportedly announced it would introduce regulations for the use of 6PPD, and four months after California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control required tyre-makers to “evaluate safer alternatives to 6PPD”.

There has not yet been a date set for the lawsuit to be heard in court.

While Europe’s recently-delayed ‘Euro 7’ emissions regulations mainly focus on the tailpipe outputs from petrol and diesel engines, the environmental restrictions will also limit the amount of particulate matter produced by tyres and brakes.

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