Faculty Mentor(s)

Dr. Michael Philben, Geological & Environmental Science

Document Type

Poster

Event Date

4-12-2024

Abstract

Cigarettes are the most common litter globally. Following smoking, the filter is left with carcinogenic compounds, tar and metals. All of which are highly toxic for wildlife, affecting reproduction, behavior and mortality rate in animals. The heavy metals that are left within the filter also have potential to leach from the cigarettes and enter the groundwater system. As these heavy metals enter the system, it leads to adverse effects on the environment and can cause detrimental health effects in humans, such as cell damage, induced carcinogenic processes and loss of cellular functions. Much research that exists currently only focuses on the content of cigarettes. Little research has been done on the degradation and leaching of its contents into the environment. For our experiment, we analyzed which heavy metals are present in cigarette butts. The concentration of each was also analyzed and quantified. The goal of our research was to determine the concentrations of heavy metals that can leach into a watershed from improperly discarded cigarette filters. We found lab rainwater simulated cigarettes and roadside cigarettes had the highest concentrations of metals. With Iron being the highest concentration followed by Magnesium, Zinc and several other metals. Utilizing the concentrations determined by the MARS 6 digester, we calculated a conservative estimate of each metal. Iron, our highest concentration, releases approximately 1297μg of Iron into the environment every day. Each metal was quantified and the annual flux of cigarettes for a 300m roadside collection in Holland, Michigan was calculated.

Comments

Hope College Department of Geological and Environmental Science.

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