CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Local scientists are conducting a study to see if chemicals are killing the fish in waters around the Coastal Bend.
Researchers at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas are about to begin a study to see if red drum and sheepshead minnow are affected by a deadly chemical that comes from the tread wear of a tire. Scientists in the Northwest have already found that the chemical is highly toxic to salmon.
Dr. Kristen Nielsen is an aquatic toxicologist and associate professor at UTMSI in Port Aransas. She will be the lead investigator in a study being funded by the Matagorda Bay Mitigation Trust Fund. Her team studies the effects of what's called 6PPD quinone on Coastal Bend aquatic life.
"As your tires wear, little particles get left behind on roads and that 6PPD does its job and absorbs some sunlight energy," Nielsen said. "Which creates a chemical reaction that turns it into something called 6PPD quinone."
The chemical in the tire tread is supposed to protect tires from breaking down.
However, it's also been discovered that when a big rain hits, all of that treated tire tread gets washed down into the drainage system. It then gets flushed out into bays or rivers. UT researchers will be taking water samples in San Antonio and Matagorda Bay to see if the Coastal Bend has a major issue here.
To do this, they say they will be using embryonic fish to test the chemical on.
"6PPD quinone is not something you can buy, you have to actually synthesize it right now," Neilson said. "So not a lot of people are able to do studies with it. Fortunately, we've been able to get our hands on some 6PPD quinone that was synthesized for us."
The budget for this project is some $670,000. The research is expected to be completed in 2025.
For the latest updates on coronavirus in the Coastal Bend, click here.
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