Cigarette Ash
This is a tapelift from a wall in the living room of a home
with two people who smoked
cigarettes in the home. The white agglomerated particle in the center of the field
is an example of the "white ash" from a
cigarette. Small fragments of charred leaf can be seen mixed in with the ash
particle. The rhombohedral particle on the
upper right of the ash particle is calcite associated with plaster and smaller
calcite particles from recent construction
in this home. Skin flakes, dog dander, bark fragments, and clothing fiber are also
present.
Definition/Function:
Cigarette ash is the residue remaining after the burning of cigarette tobacco. Cigarette
tobacco contains many more
inorganic additives than other tobacco products in order to promote even and continuous
burning. One of the major
additives for this purpose is potassium nitrate. The result is the distinctive mix of
highly birefringent inorganic
derivatives and charred leaf residues in the ash.
Significance in the Environment:
The presence of these particles in an indoor environment indicates the presence of a
person who smokes cigarettes. It does
not necessarily indicate the smoking of cigarettes at this location. As the amount of
cigarette ash increases it becomes
increasingly probable that a cigarette is being burned at this location.
Characteristic Features:
Cigarette ash is a bit unique among the plant ashes because of the potassium nitrate and
other substances added to the
tobacco in a cigarette. The result is that the ash is associated with a significant
amount of highly birefringent
small crystals. Often the amount of charred plant matter is quite small compared to the
associated mass of small
highly birefringent crystals. The white ash is an agglomerated particle containing
numerous individual particles ranging
from about two micrometers to sub-micrometer in diameter. The individual particles are
rounded rather than having any
crystalline face evident. No background matrix material is evident but often there are
traces of charred plant fragments
present.
Associated Particles:
If there are a number of cigarette ash particles present in a sample then it increases
the probability that some of the
clusters of highly birefringent crystals seen in that environmental sample are from
cigarette ash. Distinguishing between
cigarette white ash, some sodium nitrate aerosols, some carpet adhesive decomposition
products, some plaster or spackle
dusts, etc. will require closer examination of the size distributions, shapes, and
associated chemical phases in the
agglomerated particle.
References:
