ac detective
Drugs in the water Levels of a cocaine metabolite in wastewater point to widespread abuse of the drug.
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Even the tiny amount they needed f you wanted to know the extent is highly regulated. “It took almost of the drug-abuse problem in four months to have the standards your community, how would you Varese Sampling site in the laboratory after the order,” go about gathering data? Would says Fanelli. you simply ask people whether or Cuneo The analysis indicated that the not they use illegal drugs? Despite Po River site carried the equivalent the obvious drawbacks to this apof 4 kg, or ~40,000 doses, of coproach, most estimates of drug use caine per day. Assuming that 5 milrely heavily on population surveys. lion people contribute to the waste Recently, however, Roberto Fanelfound at that site, Fanelli’s group li and his colleagues at the Mario calculated that cocaine use averages Negri Institute for Pharmacological Latina 7 doses per 1000 people per day. If Research and the University of only young adults (ages 15–34), Insubria (both in Italy) devised an who are the primary users of coaccurate and objective means of caine, are counted, the daily-use measuring drug use. Applying the level jumps to 27 doses per 1000 principle that what goes in must Cagliari people. The data from the four come out, the researchers measured wastewater treatment plants were the level of benzoylecgonine (BE), similar. According to the official the major urinary metabolite of cofigures based on interviews, only caine, in the wastewater of several Monitoring drug abuse. Researchers have analyzed 15,000 people (1.1% of the young Italian cities. What they found was water from the Po River and at four wastewater treatadults) admitted to using cocaine at startling—cocaine use appears to ment plants in Italy to determine the extent of cocaine least once a month—a discrepancy be far more common than publicuse. (Adapted from Environ. Health 2005, 4, 14.) of ~2 orders of magnitude. Fanelli health officials previously thought. also noted that the levels did not vary From there, they got the idea that they Because Fanelli’s group has a longmuch with time. This indicates that, could apply their methodology to the standing interest in chemical pollution “contrary to what is currently believed, and the Mario Negri Institute studies all problem of human drug abuse. Fanelli’s group turned their attention most probably cocaine [consumption] is aspects of drugs, including mechanism, shifting from a so-called recreational use to cocaine. With the help of HPLC/ metabolism, and patterns of use, it was occurring mainly during weekends to a ESI-MS/MS, they measured the levels very natural to explore where drugs go steady everyday use by a significant part of cocaine and its metabolite BE in waafter they are consumed, says Fanelli. of the population.” “It’s the end of the story,” he adds. The ter samples from one site along the Po The dismaying results were reported River and in the wastewater entering researchers first measured the levels of widely by the media and reinvigorated sewage treatment plants in four mediseveral prescription drugs in wastewater um-sized Italian cities—Cagliari, Latina, discussion of the drug-abuse problem and found that most of the time their among public-health officials. Fanelli’s Cuneo, and Varese (Environ. Health results correlated well with prescription approach could be in high demand in 2005, 4, 14). They based their estirecords. At one particular sampling site the future. It can be easily adapted to mates of cocaine use on BE levels beon the Po River, however, the level of cause nearly half of a cocaine dose is ex- other drugs of abuse and yields accurate the anti-asthma drug salbutamol was real-time information about drug use creted as BE, and no plausible source excessively high (Environ. Sci. Technol. anonymously and cheaply, allowing offi2003, 37, 1241–1248). The researchers of BE exists other than the urine of cocials to monitor the effectiveness of incaine users. One of the trickiest parts of realized that their finding reflected the terventions. a illegal use of salbutamol by local farmers their work turned out to be obtaining —Karen Ross cocaine to use as an analytical standard. to promote muscle growth in cattle. © 2006 AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
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