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We here report chemical characteristics relevant to the fate and transport of the recently discovered environmental toxicant 6PPD-quinone (2-((4-methylpentan-2-yl)amino)-5-(phenylamino)cyclohexa-2,5-diene-1,4-dione or “6PPDQ”). 6PPDQ is a transformation product of the tire rubber antioxidant 6PPD that is ubiquitous in roadway environments, including atmospheric particulate matter, soils, runoff, and receiving waters, after dispersal from tire rubber use and wear on roadways. The aqueous solubility and octanol–water partitioning coefficient ( i.e. log  K OW ) for 6PPDQ were measured to be 38 ± 10 μg L −1 and 4.30 ± 0.02, respectively. Within the context of analytical measurement and laboratory processing, sorption to various laboratory materials was evaluated, indicating that glass was largely inert but loss of 6PPDQ to other materials was common. Aqueous leaching simulations from tire tread wear particles (TWPs) indicated short term release of ∼5.2 μg 6PPDQ per gram TWP over 6 h under flow-through conditions. Aqueous stability tests observed a slight-to-moderate loss of 6PPDQ over 47 days (26 ± 3% loss) for pH 5, 7 and 9. These measured physicochemical properties suggest that 6PPDQ is generally poorly soluble but fairly stable over short time periods in simple aqueous systems. 6PPDQ can also leach readily from TWPs for subsequent environmental transport, posing high potential for adverse effects in local aquatic environments. 

A rapid and sensitive method is described for measuring perchlorate (ClO 4 − ), chlorate (ClO 3 − ), chlorite (ClO 2 − ), bromate (BrO 3 − ), and iodate (IO 3 − ) ions in natural and treated waters using non-suppressed ion chromatography with electrospray ionization and tandem mass spectrometry (NS-IC-MS/MS). Major benefits of the NS-IC-MS/MS method include a short analysis time (12 minutes), low limits of quantification for BrO 3 − (0.10 μg L −1 ), ClO 4 − (0.06 μg L −1 ), ClO 3 − (0.80 μg L −1 ), and ClO 2 − (0.40 μg L −1 ), and compatibility with conventional LC-MS/MS instrumentation. Chromatographic separations were generally performed under isocratic conditions with a Thermo Scientific Dionex AS16 column, using a mobile phase of 20% 1 M aqueous methylamine and 80% acetonitrile. The isocratic method can also be optimized for IO 3 − analysis by including a gradient from the isocratic mobile phase to 100% 1 M aqueous methylamine. Four common anions (Cl − , Br − , SO 4 2− , and HCO 3 − /CO 3 2− ), a natural organic matter isolate (Suwannee River NOM), and several real water samples were tested to examine influences of natural water constituents on oxyhalide detection. Only ClO 2 − quantification was significantly affected – by elevated chloride concentrations (>2 mM) and NOM. The method was successfully applied to quantify oxyhalides in natural waters, chlorinated tap water, and waters subjected to advanced oxidation by sunlight-driven photolysis of free available chlorine (sunlight/FAC). Sunlight/FAC treatment of NOM-free waters containing 200 μg L −1 Br − resulted in formation of up to 263 ± 35 μg L −1 and 764 ± 54 μg L −1 ClO 3 − , and up to 20.1 ± 1.0 μg L −1 and 33.8 ± 1.0 μg L −1 BrO 3 − (at pH 6 and 8, respectively). NOM strongly inhibited ClO 3 − and BrO 3 − formation, likely by scavenging reactive oxygen or halogen species. As prior work shows that the greatest benefits in applying the sunlight/FAC process for purposes of improving disinfection of chlorine-resistant microorganisms are realized in waters with lower DOC levels and higher pH, it may therefore be desirable to limit potential applications to waters containing moderate DOC concentrations ( e.g. , ∼1–2 mg C L −1 ), low Br − concentrations ( e.g. , <50 μg L −1 ), and circumneutral to moderately alkaline pH ( e.g. , pH 7–8) to strike a balance between maximizing microbial inactivation while minimizing formation of oxyhalides and other disinfection byproducts.