The war on drugs could get a boost with a new method that analyzes sewage to track levels of illicit drug use in local communities in real time.
The new study, a first-of-its-kind in the U.S., was published in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology and could help law enforcement identify new drug hot spots and monitor whether anti-drug measures are working.
Kurunthachalam Kannan and Bikram Subedi note that to date, most methods to estimate drug use in the U.S. are based on surveys, crime statistics and drug seizures by law enforcement. But much illegal drug use happens off the radar. To better approximate usage, scientists have been turning to wastewater. Like a lot of other compounds from pharmaceuticals and personal care products to pesticides, illegal drugs and their metabolic byproducts also persist in sewage. In Europe, a number of studies have been done to see how well wastewater treatment plants are removing illicit drugs from sludge before treated water is released into the environment. But until now, no study in the U.S. had looked at this, likely leading to underestimates of abuse. Kannan and Subedi wanted to form a more complete picture of drug use, so they studied levels of illicit drugs at two wastewater treatment plants in Albany, New York.
Surprisingly, the scientists found cocaine in 93 percent of all untreated samples. Levels of byproducts from opioids and hallucinogenic drugs were also detected. They found that the wastewater treatment plants didn’t remove all illicit drugs before releasing water back into the environment – and eventually into drinking water. But, the researchers suggest, tracking drugs in wastewater could help policymakers and law enforcement understand patterns of abuse and better fight it.
The Latest on: Analyzing sewage
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Analyzing sewage” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Analyzing sewage
- Tallahassee citizens should demand transparency amid rising sewage spill concernson December 1, 2023 at 2:25 am
Since 2017, the Tallahassee Sewage and Wakulla Basin Advocacy Group has found that although the number of annual spills decreased since 2008 from a high of 300+ spills, the volume has become ...
- Police Reveal Alleged Water Analysis Fraud in Portugalon November 30, 2023 at 4:00 pm
The investigation focused on the potential fraudulent activity of a laboratory responsible for collecting and analyzing water intended for human consumption as well as other sources of water, such as ...
- TUA approves grant application for wastewater analysison November 30, 2023 at 11:00 am
The Tullahoma Utilities Authority Board of Directors recently approved the authorization to apply for grants from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TDECD) to conduct ...
- CDC Launches New Covid Wastewater Tracking Dashboardon November 30, 2023 at 5:51 am
CIDRAP reminds us that tracking covid infections via wastewater analysis is one of the early indicators of rising covid activity in an area. Meanwhile, a new round of covid infections and deaths at a ...
- Group opposes coal pit application until wastewater release probes completeon November 27, 2023 at 10:24 am
An environmental group says a coal company’s application to deepen its open-pit mine shouldn’t be considered while it’s under investigation over wastewater releases into local rivers. The Alberta ...
- Beach gets green light after sewage spillageon November 27, 2023 at 5:51 am
Bathers have been told a Devon beach is safe again after effluent from a sewage plant spilled out on to a popular seaside resort. Warning were placed on the Environment Agency's Swimfo page for ...
- Joe Lycett sewage: Comedian to investigate water companies in new 'provocative' Channel 4 documentaryon November 27, 2023 at 2:21 am
Joe Lycett, the "leading mischief maker", will investigate water companies and the sewage crisis in a new documentary coming to Channel 4 ...
- Joe Lycett highlights UK’s sewage spill problem with his own prank podcaston November 25, 2023 at 4:15 am
Joe Lycett has unveiled a new documentary highlighting the UK's sewage spill problem following a series of stunts.
- 20 arrests in fake water analysis operationon November 23, 2023 at 8:54 am
The Judiciary Police (PJ) of Vila Real announced the arrest of 20 people and the inspection of 60 public and private entities, as part of an investigation into the falsification of water analyses ...
- Register for the Largest Water and Wastewater Monitoring Event in the UK!on November 18, 2023 at 4:32 am
Mark your calendars for WWEM 2024! The 11th edition of the UK’s largest water and wastewater monitoring event, WWEM 2024 is set to unfold on 9th and 10th October at its new location at the NEC ...
via Bing News
