Abundance and distribution of cigarette butts on the sand of five touristic beaches in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic
Fecha
2023-07-15Registro en:
Díaz-Mendoza, C., Ordiales, P. A., Bustos, M. L., Cervantes, O., Palacios-Moreno, M., San-Martin, T. V., ... & Gutiérrez, L. (2023). Abundance and distribution of cigarette butts on the sand of five touristic beaches in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 194, 115306.
10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.115306
Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar
Repositorio Universidad Tecnológica de Bolívar
Autor
Díaz-Mendoza, Claudia
Arias Ordiales, Paloma
Bustos, María Luján
Cervantes, Omar
Palacios-Moreno, Mario
Vera San Martín, Teresa
Kloc Lopes, Gisela
Vallejo, Martha
Mouthon-Bello, Javier
Gutierrez, Leonardo
Resumen
Cigarette butts (CB) and cigarette butt fibers (CBF) are highly abundant and frequent residues on beach sand.
Also, they are hazardous waste due to their significant toxicity and potential risk to the ecosystems’ biota and the
health of beach tourists. This study aimed to determine the abundance and density of CB and CBF found on the
active, rest, and service zones of five pilot beaches in Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Mexico. The
methodology involved collecting CB and CBF in 500 m2 transects of urban tourist beaches using a citizen scienceadapted
methodology between June 2021 and May 2022, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The abundance and
density of CB and CBF, and the Cigarette Butt Pollution Index (CBPI) were calculated. The highest proportion of
CB was found in service and rest areas. Bocagrande (CO) reported the highest generation of CB and CBF and a
severe CBPI.