Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze 26 various illicit drugs, psychopharmaceuticals and metabolites thereof in sewer from 17 selected wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Slovak and Czech Republics. Urinary bio-markers used were analyzed using liquid chromatography coupled with the tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). We then compared our results with data obtained in other parts of Europe and the world.The present study shows that the Slovak and Czech Republics have one of the highest methamphetamine consumption rates in Europe. Within Slovakia, the highest level of methamphetamine consumption was found in Dunajska Streda with the mean specific load of the drug in sewage being up to 479 mg/day/1000 inhabitants; the next highest load was detected in Trnava (354 mg/day/1000 inhabitants). The methamphetamine, ecstasy and cannabis consumptions in our study were comparable to those found in other European cities, whereas cocaine consumption was lower.Among all of the studied psychopharmaceuticals, tramadol and venlafaxine were represented in the highest concentrations. The highest mean specific load of tramadol was detected in the spa town of Piest'any (371 mg/day/1000 inhabitants) and Kosice (372 mg/day/1000 inhabitants), while the highest mean loads of venlafaxine were recorded for the towns of Trencin (230 mg/day/1000 inhabitants) and Piest'any (108 mg/day/1000 inhabitants). (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords

Drug monitoring; Wastewater analysis; LC-MS/MS; Methamphetamine; Sewage biomarker analysis

Published in

Forensic Science International
2016, Volume: 267, pages: 42-51
Publisher: ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD

UKÄ Subject classification

Substance Abuse
Forensic Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2016.08.016

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/84664