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<br /> <br /> Google Image Result for http://www.longwood.edu/cleanva/images/cigbuttsljpg 3/10/08 2:17 AM <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Cigarette <br /> Butt <br /> <br /> <br /> LMer o~c• rym..tti ,.llcr non>r <br /> <br /> <br /> Cigarette Butts as Litter-Toxic as Well as Ugly <br /> <br /> <br /> By Kathleen M. Register <br /> <br /> <br /> This article first appeared in the publication "Underwater Naturalist" <br /> Bulletin of the American Littoral Society, Volume 25, Number 2, August 2000 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Cigarette butts are the <br /> b most common form of <br /> plastic litter on the <br /> beaches of the U.S. and <br /> world-wide. Toxic <br /> chemicals can leach out <br /> of the cigarette filters. <br /> " photo copynghted by Chns <br /> Register. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Introduction <br /> Every beach-goer has seen them-cigarette butts littering the shore. Beyond being unsightly, does cigarette <br /> litter present a threat to organisms? This article summarizes research conducted to determine if the <br /> compounds in discarded cigarette butts (the filters and remnant tobacco) are biohazards to the water flea <br /> (Daphnia magna). Short-term bioassays (48 hours) using the water flea as the test organism were conducted. <br /> The results indicate that the chemicals released into freshwater environments from cigarette butts are lethal to <br /> Daphnia at concentrations of 0.125 cigarette butts per liter (one butt per two gallons of water). <br /> Smokers discard billions of cigarette butts yearly, tossing many directly into the environment. Cigarette butts <br /> accumulate outside of buildings, on parking lots and streets where they can be transported through storm <br /> drains to streams, rivers, and beaches. <br /> <br /> Some background on cigarettes <br /> 95% of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a plastic slow to degrade. Cellulose acetate fibers are <br /> thinner than sewing thread, white, and packed tightly together to create a filter; they can look like cotton. <br /> Cigarette filters are specifically designed to absorb vapors and to accumulate particulate smoke components. <br /> Cultivated tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum, is a member of the nightshade family of plants. It is a broadleaf native <br /> <br /> <br /> http://Images.google.comiimgres?lmgurl-http://www.longwood.edu/cl...%3DClgarette%2BLItter%2Bon%2BBeaches%26um%3D1%26h1%3Den%26sa%3DX Page 1 of 8 <br />