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Dirtier Than Money: Gas Pump Handles, ATMs Top List Of Filthy Surfaces

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — What did you touch on your way in to work this morning? Chances are it was loaded with viruses and bacteria, according to a new study released Tuesday.

KNX 1070's Jon Baird reports gas pumps topped a "filthy" list complied by researchers at Kimberly Clark.

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The study found mailbox handles, escalator rails and ATM buttons were also among the dirtiest surfaces that people touch on a regular basis.

Teams of hygienists from the manufacturer behind Kleenex, Huggies and other sanitation care products fanned out across Los Angeles and five other cities swabbing  samples from a variety of common objects.

The results showed gas pumps were dirtier than the rest.

"A hundred people a day touch those things, and not everybody's exactly the cleanest person on earth," said one man.

After ATMs on the list were parking meters and kiosks, crosswalk buttons and vending machine buttons in shopping malls.

The findings highlight an increase in public awareness of just how dirty people can be.

"I'm really disgusted when I go into the market and they have the little green baskets that are just caked with all kinds of stuff," one shopper said.

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