Environmental fate and effects of nicotine released during cigarette production

Abstract

A variety of test methods were used to study the gradation, bioaccumulation, and toxicity of nicotine. Studies included determination of the octanol-water partition coefficient, conversion to CO2 in soil and activated sludge, and evaluation of the effects on microbiological and algal inhibition as well as plant germination and root elongation. The partitioning of nicotine between octanol and water indicated that nicotine will not bioaccumulate regardless of the pH of the medium. The aqueous and soil-based biodegradation studies indicated that nicotine is readily biodegradable in both types of media. The microbiological inhibition and aquatic and terrestrial toxicity tests indicated that nicotine has low toxicity. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Persistence, Bioaccumulation, and Toxicity Profiler model, based on the structure of nicotine and the predictive rates of hydroxyl radical and ozone reactions, estimated an atmospheric half-life of less than 5.0 h. Using this value in the Canadian Environmental Modeling Center level III model, the half-life of nicotine was estimated as 3.0 d in water and 0.5 d in soil. This model also estimated nicotine discharge into the environment; nicotine would be expected to be found predominantly in water (93%), followed by soil (4%), air (3%), and sediment (0.4%). Using the estimated nicotine concentrations in water, soil, and sediment and the proper median effective concentrations derived from the algal growth, biomass inhibition, and buttercrunch lettuce (Lactuca sativa) seed germination and root elongation studies, hazard quotients of between 10(-7) and 10(-8) were calculated, providing further support for the conclusion that the potential for nicotine toxicity to aquatic and terrestrial species in the environment is extremely low.