This is our regular monthly general membership meeting. 

Our guest speaker will be: Dr. Erik Krogh, PHD-Professor of Chemistry Vancouver Island University (Erik.krogh@viu.ca)

The topic: Where the Rubber Hits the Road: Protecting Salmon from Tire Wear Toxins

He will speak about the recently discovered Tire wear particles that are transported through receiving waters during rain events, the association with “urban run-off mortality syndrome”, and the acute toxicity to salmonids even at extremely low concentrations.

He will help us to understand the fate and distribution of these leachates in our complex urban landscapes, and the widescale intensive sampling needed to understand all the implications.

Researchers at Vancouver Island University working with the BC Conservation Foundation have developed an innovative method enabling a large citizen science monitoring campaign on Vancouver Island. Working with community and First Nation partners, they characterize trends and environmental exposures in urban streams between Victoria and Campbell River.

Through the convenience of a newly developed geo-located sample collection app, automated data processing software, and creation of geospatial maps, this program has been employed to maintain active community engagements across multiple stakeholders and generate the largest tire wear toxicant dataset in the world. This work has resulted in the identification of important point sources and emphasizes the importance of working with local government agencies to assess stormwater inputs to inform risk assessments and mitigation efforts. They recently adapted this technique to report the first on-site real-time measurements of tire wear toxicants, monitoring in-stream concentrations during a rain event.

More information about this project can be found at https://www.tireweartoxins.com/

If you would like to attend our meeting as a guest please contact our Membership Coordinator Email: Club Registrar