Aromatic amines leachate from cigarette butts into aquatic environments: Is there risk for water organisms?

Sina Dobaradaran; Torsten C Schmidt; Xenia A M Mutke; Gabriel E De-la-Torre; Ursula Telgheder; Klaus Kerpen; Marcel Plonowski

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.114717

Aromatic amines leachate from cigarette butts into aquatic environments: Is there risk for water organisms?

Environ Res. 2023 Jan 1;216(Pt 3):114717. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114717. Epub 2022 Nov 3.

Authors

Sina Dobaradaran¹, Torsten C Schmidt², Xenia A M Mutke³, Gabriel E De-la-Torre⁴, Ursula Telgheder², Klaus Kerpen³, Marcel Plonowski³

Affiliations

¹ Systems Environmental Health and Energy Research Center, The Persian Gulf Biomedical Sciences Research Institute, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran; Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health and Nutrition, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran; Instrumental Analytical Chemistry and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen 45141, Germany. Electronic address: sina_dobaradaran@yahoo.com.
² Instrumental Analytical Chemistry and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen, Germany; Centre for Water and Environmental Research, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen 45141, Germany.
³ Instrumental Analytical Chemistry and Centre for Water and Environmental Research (ZWU), Faculty of Chemistry, University of Duisburg-Essen, Universitätsstr. 5, Essen, Germany.
⁴ Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Av. La Fontana 501, Lima 12 Lima, Peru.

PMID: 36334823
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.114717

Abstract

There are many toxics, such as aromatic amines (AAs), in cigarette butts (CBs). As CBs are the most abundant litter worldwide, these chemicals may leach into water bodies. In the present work, for the first time, the levels of AAs leachates from CBs in distilled water (DW) and river water (RW) samples were evaluated at different exposure times ranging from 15 min to 30 days. The mean leachate levels of AAs in DW and RW samples were in the range of 0.2-566 and 0.2-596 ng L^-1, respectively, with overall mean values of 569 and 556 ng L^-1. There was no significant difference (p > 0.05) between the total AAs levels as well as the level of each examined AA in DW and RW samples. Aniline (ANL) had the highest leaching rate from CBs into water. The mean leachates of AAs from CBs into water were ranked as: ANL> 1-naphthylamine (1-NA)> 2-naphthylamine (2-NA) > 2,6-dimethylaniline (2, 6-DMA)> ∑toluidine (∑TOL)> o-anisidine (o-ASD)> ∑aminobiphenyl (∑ABP). Ecological risk assessment showed that ∑7AAs, ANL, p-TOL, o-TOL, 2-NA, and ∑ABP had medium risks to sensitive crustaceans and fish. As AAs are not the only hazardous chemicals which may leach from CBs into aquatic environments, restrictions on littering CBs into the environment are required due to the release of different toxics ultimately causing adverse effects on aquatic organisms.

Keywords: Chemical Water Pollutants; Cigarette butts; Ecological Parameter monitoring; Ecosystem; Tobacco Product.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Amines
Animals
Aquatic Organisms
Fresh Water
Tobacco Products*
Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical* / analysis

Substances

aniline
Amines
Water
Water Pollutants, Chemical