UBC study links artificial turf fields to lethal chemical threat for salmon

UBC researchers found Metro Vancouver’s artificial turf fields leach 6PPD‑quinone—a tire chemical deadly to coho salmon—into stormwater for years after installation, pointing to urgent needs for treatment and safer infills.
​
Lou Bosshart
Mar 17, 2026

A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination persists long after the fields are installed.

Researchers traced the pollution to crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires, a material widely used on synthetic turf fields. The team found it consistently released 6PPD-quinone and other contaminants across fields of different ages.

“An average turf field contains about 125 tonnes of crumb rubber, roughly 20,000 tires,” said Katie Moloney, a PhD student in environmental engineering in UBC’s Scholes Lab. “With fields typically lasting a decade or more, they can become long-term sources of tire-derived pollution entering stormwater pipes, and ultimately fish-bearing waterways—frequently without treatment.”

The project began after streamkeepers in North Vancouver contacted the researchers in late 2023, reporting that crumb rubber was washing off a nearby turf field. Dead coho had also been found in an adjacent stream.

Read about the study