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Nicotine Detected in Every Berlin Waterway Sample

IGB researchers caution that shifting rainfall patterns combined with declining water flows could intensify nicotine contamination, posing growing ecological risks.

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Forscher haben in Berliner Gewässern Nikotin nachgewiesen. Das Nikotin aus weggeworfenen Kippen gelangt vor allem über Starkregen und die Kanalisation in die Gewässer, wie das Leibniz-Institut für Gewässerökologie und Binnenfischerei berichtete.
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Overview

  • The IGB study of 56 water bodies in summer 2019 detected nicotine in every sample, with concentrations between 7 and 1,500 nanograms per liter.
  • Heavy rainfall mobilizes nicotine from discarded cigarette butts into the sewer system, driving up canal concentrations by as much as 16 times.
  • Measured nicotine levels remain below lethal doses for most freshwater fish but exceed safe thresholds for small organisms at concentrations above 100 ng/L.
  • Each discarded cigarette filter contains about two milligrams of nicotine and other toxic chemicals that leach rapidly into urban waterways during rainfall.
  • Researchers warn that declining water flows coupled with more extreme rainfall events could worsen nicotine contamination in Berlin’s inner-city waters.