Dibutyl Phthalate (DBP), often used as a plastic additive, is a hazardous chemical that is greatly toxic to aquatic life. The described filter is designed to separate the DBP from the outlet of the household water. This project' s purpose was to create a method/design to remove DBP from household wastewater. To avoid any other plastic additive influence on the filtration process, the components of the |filter were put into a glass tube. Lightweight copper wire mesh along with filter paper was attached to the downstream end of the filter. During the studies, planaria (aquatic flatworm) were used as a bioindicator of water quality by measuring their mortality (% alive) and their locomotor velocity (distance/time). Prior to creating the filter, the control of exposing the planaria

in spring water was studied and the impact of 0.0011% of DBP was tested on the planaria to confirm the expected negative effects of toxicity. When creating the DBP solution to expose to the planaria, the DBP was at first dissolved in ethanol (EtOH) to speed up the process of dissolving in spring water. To confirm that the 0.1% EtOH was not toxic to the planaria, the same amount used in the DBP solution was studied on the planaria. After the filter has been designed, the DBP solution and regular spring water have been run through the filter and the outputted water was studied on the planaria. The filter's flowrate has also been studied and the average flow rate was approximately 950mL per hour. The last experiment that was carried out was the lifetime experiment, where the efficiency of the filter was studied after a certain number of uses with a DBP solution on the planaria. The DBP study, as expected, has significantly impacted the planaria both on their locomotor velocity and mortality. When the DBP solution was filtered out, the results have shown that the planaria were performing with a lot more healthy activity than in the controlled experiment of spring water. This raised the suspicion of a possible leak of phthalates into the spring water since it was contained in a plastic bottle. After testing the filtered spring water, just like the filtered DBP solution, the filtered spring water has significantly increased the planarian locomotor velocity and even made them reproduce. The lifetime has shown a significant difference in efficiency after the fourth use which informs that the filter must be replaced frequently. The results suggest that the filter has been successful in filtering-out the DBP. However, after repeated use of the filter with DBP, it has significantly decreased its efficiency. The low lifetime can be improved and the water in plastic bottles can be looked at for a future study. Lastly, in an attempt to prevent the DBP from reaching the environment and nearby aquatic systems, the replaceable filter could be applied to the outlet of the septic tank. This will allow for the DBP to be filtered out before the outlet water reaches the soil.