The Shape of things to Come

A method for identifying and quantifying tire-tread particles in the environment has been developed. It is based on the measurement of extractable organic zinc. The high sensitivity of atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) with a heated graphite atomizer(HGA) permits assessment of submilligram amounts of tire debris in environmental sample; The analysis is performed on aerosol and soil samples. This new method is more accurate and faster than the previously reported IR method.