Temporal variability of pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in wastewater and the effects of a major sporting event

Illicit Drugs in Surface Waters: How to Get Fish off the Addictive Hook

The United Nations World Drug Report published in 2022 alarmed that the global market of illicit drugs is steadily expanding in space and scale. Substances of abuse are usually perceived in the light of threats to human health and public security, while the environmental aspects of their use and subsequent emissions usually remain less explored. However, as with other human activities, drug production, trade, and consumption of drugs may leave their environmental mark. Therefore, this paper aims to review the occurrence of illicit drugs in surface waters and their bioaccumulation and toxicity in fish. Illicit drugs of different groups, i.e., psychostimulants (methamphetamines/amphetamines, cocaine, and its metabolite benzoylecgonine) and depressants (opioids: morphine, heroin, methadone, fentanyl), can reach the aquatic environment through wastewater discharge as they are often not entirely removed during wastewater treatment processes, resulting in their subsequent circulation in nanomolar concentrations, potentially affecting aquatic biota, including fish. Exposure to such xenobiotics can induce oxidative stress and dysfunction to mitochondrial and lysosomal function, distort locomotion activity by regulating the dopaminergic and glutamatergic systems, increase the predation risk, instigate neurological disorders, disbalance neurotransmission, and produce histopathological alterations in the brain and liver tissues, similar to those described in mammals. Hence, this drugs-related multidimensional harm to fish should be thoroughly investigated in line with environmental protection policies before it is too late. At the same time, selected fish species (e.g., Danio rerio, zebrafish) can be employed as models to study toxic and binge-like effects of psychoactive, illicit compounds.

Short-term mass loads of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a wastewater treatment plant from South China

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are one of the most important sources and sinks for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). However, limited studies have evaluated short-term temporal variability of PFAS in WWTPs, particularly for their intra-day variations. For this purpose, a time-composite sampling campaign was carried out at a WWTP influent from South China for 1 week. Five out of ten PFAS were found in the influent, i.e., perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS), and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). PFOA was the most domain PFAS whereas PFOS was detected occasionally, which might be associated with the prohibition of PFOS use in China. For the first time, we observed significant intra-day fluctuations in mass fluxes for PFOS. Different from a morning peak of pharmaceuticals reported previously, PFOS mass loads fluctuated sharply at noon and night on the weekdays. Furthermore, the mass fluxes of PFOA on the weekend were significantly elevated. For the other PFAS detected, no significant diurnal variations in mass loads were identified. Correlation analysis indicated that domestic activities (e.g., home cleaning) are likely to be the major source of these perfluorocarboxylic acids especially PFOA. In addition, flow fluxes had little effects on these PFAS mass load. These results can aid in future sampling campaigns and optimizing removal strategies for PFAS in wastewater.

Correlations between China's socioeconomic status, disease burdens, and pharmaceuticals and personal care product levels in wastewater

The presence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in domestic wastewater can potentially indicate socioeconomic status and disease burdens. However, current knowledge is limited to the correlation between specific pharmaceuticals and diseases. This study aims to explore the associations between socioeconomic status, disease burdens, and PPCP levels in domestic wastewater at a national level. Samples from 171 wastewater influents across China were used to measure PPCPs, and the per capita consumption of PPCPs was calculated. Results showed that the 31 targeted PPCPs were widely present in wastewater with varying occurrence characteristics. The mean consumption levels of different PPCPs varied greatly, ranging from 0.03 to 110723.15 µg/d/capita. While there were no significant regional differences in the overall pattern of PPCP consumption, 22 PPCPs showed regional variations between Northern China and Southern China. PPCPs with similar usage purposes exhibited similar distribution patterns. Disease burden (70.1%) was the main factor affecting most PPCP consumption compared to socioeconomic factors (26.4%). Through correlation analyses, specific types of PPCPs were identified that were highly associated with socioeconomic status and disease burdens, such as hypertension-bezafibrate, brucellosis-quinolones, sulfonamides, hepatitis-triclosan, triclocarban, socioeconomic development-fluoxetine, and people's living standards-gemfibrozil. Despite some uncertainties, this study provides valuable insights into the relationship between PPCPs in domestic wastewater and socioeconomic status and human health.

Spatial and Temporal Drug Usage Patterns in Wastewater Correlate with Socioeconomic and Demographic Indicators in Southern Nevada

Evaluating drug use within populations in the United States poses significant challenges due to various social, ethical, and legal constraints, often impeding the collection of accurate and timely data. Here, we aimed to overcome these barriers by conducting a comprehensive analysis of drug consumption trends and measuring their association with socioeconomic and demographic factors. From May 2022 to April 2023, we analyzed 208 wastewater samples from eight sampling locations across six wastewater treatment plants in Southern Nevada, covering a population of 2.4 million residents with 50 million annual tourists. Using bi-weekly influent wastewater samples, we employed mass spectrometry to detect 39 analytes, including pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and high risk substances (HRS). Our results revealed a significant increase over time in the level of stimulants such as cocaine (pFDR=1.40×10-10) and opioids, particularly norfentanyl (pFDR =1.66×10-12), while PPCPs exhibited seasonal variation such as peak usage of DEET, an active ingredient in insect repellents, during the summer (pFDR =0.05). Wastewater from socioeconomically disadvantaged or rural areas, as determined by Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes (RUCA) scores, demonstrated distinct overall usage patterns, such as higher usage/concentration of HRS, including cocaine (p=0.05) and norfentanyl (p=1.64×10-5). Our approach offers a near real-time, comprehensive tool to assess drug consumption and personal care product usage at a community level, linking wastewater patterns to socioeconomic and demographic factors. This approach has the potential to significantly enhance public health monitoring strategies in the United States.

Wastewater surveillance of high risk substances in Southern Nevada: Sucralose normalization to translate data for potential public health action

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the value of wastewater surveillance in providing unbiased assessments of incidence/prevalence for infectious disease targets, ultimately leading to the development of local, state, and national programs across the United States. To address the growing epidemic of drug abuse, there have been calls to extend these programs to high risk substances (HRS) and metabolites, while leveraging the experience gained during the pandemic and from ongoing efforts in other countries. This study further advances the science of wastewater surveillance for HRS by (1) highlighting analytical and sewer transport considerations, (2) proposing sucralose normalization to adjust for varying human urine/fecal load and confounded population estimates (e.g., high tourism areas), and (3) characterizing temporal and geographic trends in HRS use. This one-year study across eight sewersheds in Southern Nevada (208 total samples) monitored concentrations of 17 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and 22 HRS and metabolites, including natural, semi-synthetic, and synthetic opioids. The data indicated a ∼200 % increase in heroin and methamphetamine use since 2010, a stark increase in fentanyl consumption beginning in October 2022, and statistically significant differences in HRS consumption patterns between sewersheds and on certain dates. Notably, the latter outcome highlights the potential for wastewater surveillance data to be strategically translated into public health action to reduce and/or more rapidly respond to overdoses.

Voltammetric determination of flufenamic acid and adsorption studies with biochar in the absence / presence of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide

In this article, a novel method for the determination of Flufenamic acid (FFA, pharmaceutical pollutant) is presented based on voltammetric oxidation at a carbon paste electrode (CPE) in-situ modified with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB). The experimentally proved "erosion effect" of this surfactant enhanced the sensitivity of detection in the SWASV mode allowing us to quantify the analyte down to the low nanomolar level (with a LOD of 5.5 × 10-9 mol L-1 FFA). The respective (electro)analytical procedure has been shown to be applicable in monitoring the residua of FFA in model aqueous solutions simulating polluted and then purified industrial wastewater. Furthermore, the process of removal of FFA via adsorption onto selected carbonaceous materials was studied in detail, when two conventional active carbon adsorbents were compared with biochar (BC) - a cheaper alternative. It has been found that although the latter as such does not attain the adsorption capacities of both active carbons, in-situ modification of BC with CTAB enhances its adsorption capacity up to 40% (from 125 mg g-1 to ca. 175 mg g-1), as well as fastens the adsorption process (3x); both under conditions of testing. When considering the final procedure for removal of residual pollutant from model water samples with BC and the method of choice for quantification of the corresponding change(s) of FFA before and after purification, the principal role of CTAB has been revealed and defined. Namely, the functioning of CTAB had, in fact, double benefit: (i) enhancement of adsorptive capabilities of the BC adsorbent and (ii) improved sensitivity of the voltammetric detection with in-situ modified CPE.

Nontargeted Screening of Contaminants of Emerging Concern in the Glen Valley Wastewater Treatment Plant, Botswana

There is growing concern about the prevalence and impact of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). The environmental monitoring of CECs has, however, been limited in low- and middle-income countries due to the lack of advanced analytical instrumentation locally. In the present study we employed a nontargeted and suspect screening workflow via liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS) to identify known and unknown pollutants in the Glen Valley wastewater treatment plant, Botswana, complemented by analysis of groundwater samples. The present study represents the first HRMS analysis of CECs in water samples obtained in Botswana. Suspect screening of 5942 compounds qualitatively identified 28 compounds, including 26 pharmaceuticals and two illicit drugs (2-ethylmethcathinone and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Nontargeted analysis tentatively identified the presence of 34 more compounds including (5ξ)-12,13-dihydroxypodocarpa-8,11,13-trien-7-one, 12-aminododecanoic acid, atenolol acid, brilliant blue, cyclo leucylprolyl, decanophenone, DL-carnitine, N,N'-dicyclohexylurea, N4-acetylsulfamethoxazole, NP-003672, and 24 polyethylene glycol polymers. The highest number of detections were in influent wastewater (26 CECs) followed by effluent wastewater (10 CECs) and, lastly, groundwater (4 CECs). Seventeen CECs detected in the influent water were not detected in the effluent waters, suggesting reduced emissions due to wastewater treatment. Two antiretroviral compounds (abacavir and tenofovir) were detected in the influent and effluent sources. This suggests that wastewater treatment plants are a major pathway of chemical pollution to the environment in Botswana and will help inform prioritization efforts for monitoring and remediation that is protective of these key ecosystems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:52-61. © 2023 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Analysis of Wastewater Samples to Explore Community Substance Use in the United States: Pilot Correlative and Machine Learning Study

BACKGROUND

Substance use disorder and associated deaths have increased in the United States, but methods for detecting and monitoring substance use using rapid and unbiased techniques are lacking. Wastewater-based surveillance is a cost-effective method for monitoring community drug use. However, the examination of the results often focuses on descriptive analysis.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore community substance use in the United States by analyzing wastewater samples. Geographic differences and commonalities of substance use were explored.

METHODS

Wastewater was sampled across the United States (n=12). Selected drugs with misuse potential, prescriptions, and over-the-counter drugs and their metabolites were tested across geographic locations for 7 days. Methods used included wastewater assessment of substances and metabolites paired with machine learning, specifically discriminant analysis and cluster analysis, to explore similarities and differences in wastewater measures.

RESULTS

Geographic variations in the wastewater drug or metabolite levels were found. Results revealed a higher use of methamphetamine (z=-2.27, P=.02) and opioids-to-methadone ratios (oxycodone-to-methadone: z=-1.95, P=.05; hydrocodone-to-methadone: z=-1.95, P=.05) in states west of the Mississippi River compared to the east. Discriminant analysis suggested temazepam and methadone were significant predictors of geographical locations. Precision, sensitivity, specificity, and F1-scores were 0.88, 1, 0.80, and 0.93, respectively. Finally, cluster analysis revealed similarities in substance use among communities.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that wastewater-based surveillance has the potential to become an effective form of surveillance for substance use. Further, advanced analytical techniques may help uncover geographical patterns and detect communities with similar needs for resources to address substance use disorders. Using automated analytics, these advanced surveillance techniques may help communities develop timely, tailored treatment and prevention efforts.

Detection of emerging patterns of drug misuse in sports via wastewater monitoring: A mini-review and potential strategies

Biological testing is a key component of the current anti-doping programme implemented by the authorities to detect doping in sports. Strategies such as longitudinal individualised data analysis and sport-specific analysis have been developed to increase the comprehensiveness of the testing. However, the trends of drug misuse in sports might not be effectively captured through today's testing plan. Wastewater testing, assembling individual-level data of a designated group to produce population-level results in one single aggregated sample, can be employed to as a complementary strategy offering added value for doping control. This paper presents an updated summary of the status of anti-doping testing and analytical methodologies for wastewater. The available literature on wastewater-based analyses of drugs prohibited in sports is reviewed. Publications surrounding sporting activities or competitions and others relevant to sports doping are selected. We debate between potential strategies and major limitations of using wastewater monitoring in anti-doping. Knowledge gaps and research directions, specifically on metabolites, stability, sensitivity, and ethical and legal considerations, are discussed. Choosing different wastewater sampling sites allows target sub-population that involved competing athletes and potentially reveal sport-specific or athlete-level-specific behaviour. Sampling from on-board toilets or athlete villages could target international-level athletes, sampling from the dormitories of national training centres allows monitoring of national-level athletes on a daily basis, and sampling from sports stadiums provides a full picture of drug use in the general population during an event. Confounding occurs as (i) the presence of non-athlete composition and the difficulty of analyses to be completely selective to the athlete population; and (ii) the identification of compounds prescribed legitimately with Therapeutic Use Exemptions, only banned in-competition, and naturally occurring. The practicalities of the approach are contextualised in monitoring the non-threshold substances such as anabolic agents, selective androgen receptor modulators, metabolic modulators, and hypoxia-inducible factor activators.

Reply to Mehrotra et al. Wastewater-Based Surveillance Does Not Belong in a Regulatory Framework Designed to Protect Waters That Receive Treated Wastewater. Comment on "Wright, T.; Adhikari, A. Utilizing a National Wastewater Monitoring Program to Address the U.S. Opioid Epidemic: A Focus on Metro Atlanta, Georgia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 5282"

We are honored that authors are reading our manuscript [...].

Detection of the Omicron BA.1 Variant of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater From a Las Vegas Tourist Area

IMPORTANCE

Interpretation of wastewater surveillance data is potentially confounded in communities with mobile populations, so it is important to account for this issue when conducting wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).

OBJECTIVES

To leverage spatial and temporal differences in wastewater whole-genome sequencing (WGS) data to quantify relative SARS-CoV-2 contributions from visitors to southern Nevada.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cross-sectional wastewater surveillance study was performed during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 to February 2022) and included weekly influent wastewater samples that were analyzed by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction to quantify SARS-CoV-2 RNA and WGS for identification of variants of concern. This study was conducted in the Las Vegas, Nevada, metropolitan area, which is a semi-urban area with approximately 2.3 million residents and nearly 1 million weekly visitors. Samples were collected from 7 wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) locations that collectively serve the vast majority of southern Nevada (excluding the small number of septic systems) and 1 manhole serving the southern portion of the Las Vegas Strip. With Las Vegas tourism returning to prepandemic levels in 2021, it was hypothesized that visitors were contributing a disproportionate fraction of SARS-CoV-2 RNA to the largest WWTP in southern Nevada, potentially confounding efforts to estimate COVID-19 incidence in the local community through WBE.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Relative SARS-CoV-2 load and variants from visitors vs the local population.

RESULTS

The Omicron BA.1 VOC was detected in the Las Vegas Strip manhole approximately 1 week before its detection at the WWTP locations (December 13, 2021) and by clinical testing (December 14, 2021). On December 13, Omicron-specific mutations represented a mean (SD) of 48.0% (4.2%) of all genomes from the Las Vegas Strip manhole and 4.1% (1.4%) of all genomes at facilities 2 and 3; by December 20, Omicron-specific mutations represented means (SD) of 82.0% (3.0%) of all genomes at the Las Vegas Strip manhole and 48.0% (2.8%) of all genomes at facilities 2 and 3, respectively. During this time, it was estimated that visitors contributed more than 60% of the SARS-CoV-2 load to the sewershed serving the Las Vegas Strip and that Omicron prevalence among visitors was 40% to 60% on December 13 and 80% to 100% on December 20th.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

Wastewater surveillance is a valuable complement to clinical tools and can provide time-sensitive data for decision-makers and policy makers. This study represents a novel approach for quantifying the confounding effects of mobile populations on wastewater surveillance data, thereby allowing for modification of an existing WBE framework for estimating COVID-19 incidence in southern Nevada.

Occurrence of Z-drugs, benzodiazepines, and ketamine in wastewater in the United States and Mexico during the Covid-19 pandemic

Z-drugs, benzodiazepines and ketamine are classes of psychotropic drugs prescribed for treating anxiety, sleep disorders and depression with known side effects including an elevated risk of addiction and substance misuse. These drugs have a strong potential for misuse, which has escalated over the years and was hypothesized here to have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) constitutes a fast, easy, and relatively inexpensive approach to epidemiological surveys for understanding the incidence and frequency of uses of these drugs. In this study, we analyzed wastewater (n = 376) from 50 cities across the United States and Mexico from July to October 2020 to estimate drug use rates during a pandemic event. Both time and flow proportional composite and grab samples of untreated municipal wastewater were analyzed using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to determine loadings of alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam, ketamine, lorazepam, nordiazepam, temazepam, zolpidem, and zaleplon in raw wastewater. Simultaneously, prescription data of the aforementioned drugs were extracted from the Medicaid database from 2019 to 2021. Results showed high detection frequencies of ketamine (90 %), lorazepam (87 %), clonazepam (76 %) and temazepam (73 %) across both Mexico and United States and comparatively lower detection frequencies for zaleplon (22 %), zolpidem (9 %), nordiazepam (<1 %), diazepam (<1 %), and alprazolam (<1 %) during the pandemic. Average mass consumption rates, estimated using WBE and reported in units of mg/day/1000 persons, ranged between 62 (temazepam) and 1100 (clonazepam) in the United States. Results obtained from the Medicaid database also showed a significant change (p < 0.05) in the prescription volume between the first quarter of 2019 (before the pandemic) and the first quarter of 2021 (pandemic event) for alprazolam, clonazepam and lorazepam. Study results include the first detections of zaleplon and zolpidem in wastewater from North America.

Not a waste: Wastewater surveillance to enhance public health

Domestic wastewater, when collected and evaluated appropriately, can provide valuable health-related information for a community. As a relatively unbiased and non-invasive approach, wastewater surveillance may complement current practices towards mitigating risks and protecting population health. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater programs are now widely implemented to monitor viral infection trends in sewersheds and inform public health decision-making. This review summarizes recent developments in wastewater-based epidemiology for detecting and monitoring communicable infectious diseases, dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, and illicit drug consumption. Wastewater surveillance, a quickly advancing Frontier in environmental science, is becoming a new tool to enhance public health, improve disease prevention, and respond to future epidemics and pandemics.

Characterizing the chemical and microbial fingerprint of unsheltered homelessness in an urban watershed

Unsheltered homelessness is rapidly becoming a critical issue in many cities worldwide. The worsening situation not only highlights the socioeconomic plight, but it also raises awareness of ancillary issues such as the potential implications for urban water quality. The objective of this study was to simultaneously leverage diverse source tracking tools to develop a chemical and microbial fingerprint describing the relative contribution of direct human inputs into Las Vegas' tributary washes. By evaluating a wide range of urban water matrices using general water quality parameters, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), human-associated microbial markers [e.g., HF183, crAssphage, and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV)], 16S rRNA gene sequencing data, and concentrations of 52 anthropogenic trace organic compounds (TOrCs), this study was able to differentiate principal sources of these constituents, including contributions from unsheltered homelessness. For example, HF183 (31% vs. 0%), crAssphage (61% vs. 5%), and PMMoV (72% vs. 55%) were more frequently detected in tributary washes with higher homeless census counts vs. 'control' tributary washes. Illicit drugs or their metabolites (e.g., heroin, acetylmorphine, amphetamine, and cocaine) and select TOrCs (e.g., acetaminophen, caffeine, ibuprofen, and naproxen) were also detected more frequently and at higher concentrations in the more anthropogenically-impacted washes. These data can be used to raise awareness of the shared interests between the broader community and those who are experiencing homelessness, notably the importance of protecting environmental health and water quality. Ultimately, this may lead to more rapid adoption of proven strategies for achieving functional zero homelessness, or at least additional resources for unsheltered individuals.

High-Throughput Microbial Community Analyses to Establish a Natural Fungal and Bacterial Consortium from Sewage Sludge Enriched with Three Pharmaceutical Compounds

Emerging and unregulated contaminants end up in soils via stabilized/composted sewage sludges, paired with possible risks associated with the development of microbial resistance to antimicrobial agents or an imbalance in the microbial communities. An enrichment experiment was performed, fortifying the sewage sludge with carbamazepine, ketoprofen and diclofenac as model compounds, with the aim to obtain strains with the capability to transform these pollutants. Culturable microorganisms were obtained at the end of the experiment. Among fungi, Cladosporium cladosporioides, Alternaria alternata and Penicillium raistrickii showed remarkable degradation rates. Population shifts in bacterial and fungal communities were also studied during the selective pressure using Illumina MiSeq. These analyses showed a predominance of Ascomycota (Dothideomycetes and Aspergillaceae) and Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria, suggesting the possibility of selecting native microorganisms to carry out bioremediation processes using tailored techniques.

Critical review on negative emerging contaminant removal efficiency of wastewater treatment systems: Concept, consistency and consequences

Emerging contaminants (ECs) are not completely removed by wastewater treatment owing to their capabilities of making complexes, toxic derivatives, byproduct formation, and dynamic partitioning. Negative contaminant removal i.e., higher concentrations (up to 5731%) of these ECs in the effluent with respect to the influent sampled on the same occasions, is globally prevalent in almost all types of treatment systems. Conventional WWTPs showed the highest negative removal (NR) for Carbamazepine, and Carbadox. Conjugation-deconjugation, types of WWTPs, transformations, leaching, operational parameters, sampling schemes, and nature of substance governs the NR efficiencies. Among the various categories of micropollutants, pesticides and beta-blockers are reported to exhibit the maximum percentage of NR, posing threat to human and the environment. With > 200% of NR for beta-blockers, low blood-pressure related symptoms may likely to get more prevalent in the near future. Study red-flags this phenomenon of negative removal that needs urgent attention.

Monitoring and ecological risk of illegal drugs before and after sewage treatment in an area

In this study, the occurrence of illicit drugs and their metabolites in the sewerage systems and in the influent and effluent of wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Konya, Turkey, was presented. The drug removal efficiencies of the central WWTP were investigated. Potential ecotoxicological risks for algae, fish, and Daphnia magna in the receiving environments were also evaluated. The highest estimated mean illicit drug use was obtained for cannabis (marijuana) at 280 ± 12 mg/day/1000 inhabitants and 430 ± 20 g/day/1000 inhabitants (15-64 years). Amphetamine was found to be the second most consumed drug of abuse. While cannabis and ecstasy consumption values were higher during the weekend, cocaine use dominated on weekdays. The removal efficiencies for THC-COOH and THC-OH were 100% in the WWTP. The average removal of cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, MDA, and methadone varied between 46 ± 7 and 87 ± 3%. The maximum concentration level of MDMA found can pose some low risk for Daphnia magna. The rest of the compounds detected in effluents did not show any toxic effects on fish, Daphnia magna, or algae. However, when the cumulative estimated risk quotient values were evaluated, there might be a low risk for Daphnia magna and algae in the receiving environment.

The environmental release and ecosystem risks of illicit drugs during Glastonbury Festival

Reported high drug use at music festivals coupled with factors such as public urination can lead to the direct release of illicit drugs into the environment. Glastonbury Festival 2019 had 203,000 attendees, its site is intercepted by the Whitelake River providing a direct route for illicit drug pollution into the local environment. We tested for popular illicit drugs such as cocaine and MDMA in the river upstream and downstream of the festival site as well as in the neighbouring Redlake River. Both rivers were sampled the weeks before, during and after the festival. Cocaine, benzoylecgonine and MDMA were found at all sample sites; concentrations, and mass loads (mass carried by the river per unit of time) were significantly higher in the Whitelake site, downstream of the festival. MDMA mass loads were 104 times greater downstream in comparison to upstream sites (1.1-61.0 mg/h vs 114.7 mg/h; p < .01). Cocaine and benzoylecgonine mass loads were also 40 times higher downstream of the festival (1.3-4.2 mg/h vs 50.4 mg/h; p < .01) (22.7-81.4 mg/h vs 854.6 mg/h; p < .01). MDMA reached its highest level during the weekend after the festival with a concentration of 322 ng/L. This concentration is deemed harmful to aquatic life using Risk Quotient assessment (RQ) and provides evidence of continuous release after the festival due to leaching of MDMA from the site. Cocaine and benzoylecgonine concentrations were not at levels deemed harmful to aquatic life according to RQ assessment yet were three times higher than MDMA concentrations. Redlake River experienced no significant changes (p > .05) in any illicit drug levels, further confirming that drug release was likely dependent on the festival site. The release of environmentally damaging levels of illicit drugs into Whitelake River during the period of Glastonbury Festival suggests an underreported potential source of environmental contamination from greenfield festival sites.

Automatic analytical approach for the determination of 12 illicit drugs and nicotine metabolites in wastewater using on-line SPE-UHPLC-MS/MS

In this study, we developed a novel on-line solid phase extraction (SPE)-ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS)-based analytical method for simultaneously quantifying 12 illicit drugs and metabolites (methamphetamine, amphetamine, morphine, codeine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, benzoylecgonine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, cocaine, ketamine, norketamine, and methcathinone) and cotinine (COT) in wastewater samples. The analysis was performed by loading 2 mL of the sample onto an Oasis hydrophilic-lipophilic balance cartridge and using a cleanup step (5% methanol) to eliminate interference with a total run time of 13 min. The isotope-labeled internal standard method was used to quantify the target substances and correct for unavoidable losses and matrix effects during the on-line SPE process. Typical analytical characteristics used for method validation were sensitivity, linearity, precision, repeatability, recovery, and matrix effects. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) of each target were set at 0.20 ng/L and 0.50 ng/L, respectively. The linearity was between 0.5 ng/L and 250 ng/L, except for that of COT. The intra- and inter-day precisions were <10.45% and 25.64%, respectively, and the relative recovery ranged from 83.74% to 162.26%. The method was used to analyze various wastewater samples from 33 cities in China, and the results were compared with the experimental results of identical samples analyzed using off-line SPE. The difference rate was between 19.91% and −20.44%, and the error range could be considered acceptable. These findings showed that on-line SPE is a suitable alternative to off-line SPE for the analysis of illicit drugs in samples.

•

A new wastewater analysis method based on on-line SPE UHPLC-MS/MS was established.

•

The on-line SPE method showed excellent performance compared with off-line SPE.

•

High sensitivity and short analysis time were achieved using the on-line SPE method.

Environmentally realistic concentrations of cocaine in seawater disturbed neuroendrocrine parameters and energy status in the marine mussel Perna perna

Cocaine (COC) is a powerful illicit drug frequently detected in the aquatic environment. COC acts by inhibiting the reuptake of dopamine (DOPA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT - serotonin) and causes endocrine disturbances in mammals. This study investigated similar effects from cocaine exposure in the marine mussel Perna perna, as well as neurotoxicity and energy imbalances. Mussels were exposed to COC (0.2 μg.L^-1 and 2 μg.L^-1) for periods of 48, 96, and 168 h. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) was measured in adductor muscle tissue to determine neurotoxicity, and neurotransmitter levels (DOPA and 5-HT), monoamine oxidase (MAO) and cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, and energy status (mitrochondrial electron transport, MET, and total lipids, TLP) were evaluated in the mussels' gonads. COC decreased AChE activity in the mussels exposed to 0.2 μg.L^-1 and 2 μg.L -1 after 168 h, and all concentrations of COC increased neurotransmitter levels. Increases in MET (0.2 μg.L -1, for all exposure periods) and TLP (0.2 μg.L 1 after 48 h, and 2 μg.L -1 after 96 h and 168 h) were also observed. No significant change was detected in MAO activity. COC also decreased COX activity in the mussels exposed to 0.2 μg.L -1 (48 h and 96 h) and 2 μg.L -1 (96 h). These results suggest that COC may compromise neurotransmitter levels and COX activity. Furthermore, the changes in MET and LPT suggest that COC affects the energy balance of the mussels, and could negatively affect physiological processes such as metabolism, hormone production, and embryonic development.

Using machine learning classification to detect simulated increases of de facto reuse and urban stormwater surges in surface water

Water quality events such as increases in stormwater or wastewater effluent in drinking water sources pose hazards to drinking water consumers. Stormwater and wastewater effluent enter Lake Mead-an important drinking water source in the southwest USA-via the Las Vegas Wash. Previous studies have applied machine learning and online instruments to detect contamination in water distribution systems. However, alert systems at drinking water intakes would provide more time for corrective action. An array of online instruments measuring pH, conductivity, redox potential, turbidity, temperature, tryptophan-like fluorescence, UV absorbance (UVA₂₅₄), TOC, and chlorophyll-a was fed raw water directly from Lake Mead. Wastewater effluent, dry weather Las Vegas Wash, and storm-impacted Las Vegas Wash samples were blended into the instrument inlets at known ratios to simulate three types of adverse water quality events. Data preprocessing was conducted to correct for diurnal patterns or instrument drift. Supervised machine learning was conducted using previously published models in R. Ninety-nine models were screened on the raw data. Eight high-performing models were evaluated in-depth and optimized. Weighted k-Nearest Neighbors, Single C5.0 Ruleset, Mixture Discriminant Analysis, and an ensemble of these three models had accuracy over 97% when assigning test set data among three classes (Normal, Event, or Maintenance). The ensemble detected all event types at the earliest timepoint and had one false positive that was not a lag error (i.e., consecutively following a true positive). Omitting Maintenance, the Adaboost model had over 99% test set accuracy and zero false positives that were not lag errors. Data preprocessing was beneficial, but the optimal methods were model-specific. All nine water quality variables were useful for most models, but UVA₂₅₄ and turbidity were most important.

Mining chemical information in Swedish wastewaters for simultaneous assessment of population consumption, treatment efficiency and environmental discharge of illicit drugs

Consumption of illicit drugs poses health risks to the public and environment. Knowledge on their usage helps better implementations of intervention strategies to reduce drug-related harms in the society and also policies to limit their releases as emerging contaminants to recipient environments. This study aimed to investigate from the daily consumption to treatment efficiency and subsequent discharge of illicit drugs by the Swedish urban populations based on simultaneous collection and analysis of influent and effluent wastewater. Two different weekly monitoring campaigns showed similar drug prevalence in Stockholm and Uppsala, with amphetamine as the most popular drug. Almost all target drug residues were still measurable in effluent wastewater. High removal efficiencies (> 94%) were observed for amphetamine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine, whereas ketamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), mephedrone and methamphetamine were the least removed substances (< 64%), with the highest discharge observed for MDMA in both catchments (~ 3.0 g/day in Uppsala; ~ 18 g/day in Stockholm). Our study provides new insights into short-term changes in the use and related discharge of illicit drugs by urban populations. Such wastewater monitoring can provide useful information to public health, forensic and environmental authorities in planning future intervention and regulation policies.

Illicit Drugs as a Potential Risk to the Aquatic Environment of a Large Freshwater Lake after a Major Music Festival

The present study strengthens the view that residues of drugs of abuse may become widespread surface water contaminants following a local music festival. Overall, 10 illicit drugs were detected from the aquatic environment after the festival; cocaine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine were present in the highest concentrations. The presence of illicit drugs and their metabolites over 3 monitored festival yr suggested that consumption of these drugs was temporally linked with events. Weather conditions seriously influenced detection of contaminants deriving from events at the lakeshore. Most of the illicit drugs retained their pharmacological activities, with a potentially adverse impact on wildlife. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:1491-1498. © 2021 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC.

Wastewater analysis reveals urban, suburban, and rural spatial patterns of illicit drug use in Dalian, China

Illicit drug use in rural and suburban areas of China has not been studied extensively, as most studies have focused on illicit drug use in urban areas. To compare the differences between urban, suburban, and rural drug use, we collected influent samples from 19 urban, 9 suburban, and 18 rural wastewater treatment plants in Dalian, respectively. A method using solid-phase extraction combined with derivatization for gas chromatography -mass spectrometry analysis was applied to detect biomarker concentrations. The concentrations of methamphetamine and morphine ranged from 3.12 to 605 ng/L and < 2.35 to 198 ng/L, respectively. Norketamine was found in only four samples (5.56 to 14.5 ng/L), while 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine and benzoylecgonine were not detected in any samples. Methamphetamine use in rural areas (16.3 mg/day/1000 inhabitant (inh), prevalence: 0.06%) was significantly lower than those in urban (77.1 mg/day/1000 inh, prevalence: 0.23%) and suburban (234 mg/day/1000 inh, prevalence: 0.70%) areas. Heroin use in suburban areas (57.6 mg/day/1000 inh, prevalence: 0.10%) was significantly higher than that in urban (13.9 mg/day/1000 inh, prevalence: 0.02%) and rural (8.68 mg/day/1000 inh, prevalence: 0.02%) areas. The results indicate relatively low levels of illicit drug use in rural areas of Dalian, related to low incomes and outflow of the working-age population. Illicit drug use was most prevalent in suburban areas of Dalian, which may be influenced by large floating populations and few anti-drug efforts in suburban areas.

Insights into the Occurrence, Fate, and Impacts of Halogenated Flame Retardants in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

Halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) have been extensively used in various consumer products and many are classified as persistent organic pollutants due to their resistance to degradation, bioaccumulation potential and toxicity. HFRs have been widely detected in the municipal wastewater and wastewater treatment solids in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the discharge and agricultural application of which represent a primary source of environmental HFRs contamination. This review seeks to provide a current overview on the occurrence, fate, and impacts of HFRs in WWTPs around the globe. We first summarize studies recording the occurrence of representative HFRs in wastewater and wastewater treatment solids, revealing temporal and geographical trends in HFRs distribution. Then, the efficiency and mechanism of HFRs removal by biosorption, which is known to be the primary process for HFRs removal from wastewater, during biological wastewater treatment processes, are discussed. Transformation of HFRs via abiotic and biotic processes in laboratory tests and full-scale WWTPs is reviewed with particular emphasis on the transformation pathways and functional microorganisms responsible for HFRs biotransformation. Finally, the potential impacts of HFRs on reactor performance (i.e., nitrogen removal and methanogenesis) and microbiome in bioreactors are discussed. This review aims to advance our understanding of the fate and impacts of HFRs in WWTPs and shed light on important questions warranting further investigation.

Estimating drug consumption during a college sporting event from wastewater using liquid chromatography mass spectrometry

Consumption of licit and/or illicit compounds during sporting events has traditionally been monitored using population surveys, medical records, and law enforcement seizure data. This pilot study evaluated the temporal and geospatial patterns in drug consumption during a university football game from wastewater using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Untreated wastewater samples were collected from three locations within or near the same football stadium every 30 min during a university football game. This analysis leveraged two LCMS/ MS instruments (Waters Acquity TQD and a Shimadzu 8040) to analyze samples for 58 licit or illicit compounds and some of their metabolites. Bayesian multilevel models were implemented to estimate mass load and population-level drug consumption, while accounting for multiple instrument runs and concentrations censored at the lower limit of quantitation. Overall, 29 compounds were detected in at least one wastewater sample collected during the game. The 10 most common compounds included opioids, anorectics, stimulants, and decongestants. For compounds detected in more than 50% of samples, temporal trends in median mass load were correlated with the timing of the game; peak loads for cocaine and tramadol occurred during the first quarter of the game and for phentermine during the third quarter. Stadium-wide estimates of the number of doses of drugs consumed were rank ordered as follows: oxycodone (n = 3246) > hydrocodone (n = 2260) > phentermine (n = 513) > cocaine (n = 415) > amphetamine (n = 372) > tramadol (n = 360) > pseudoephedrine (n = 324). This analysis represents the most comprehensive assessment of drug consumption during a university football game and indicates that wastewater-based epidemiology has potential to inform public health interventions focused on reducing recreational drug consumption during large-scale sporting events.

Basketball and drugs: Wastewater-based epidemiological estimation of discharged drugs during basketball games in Kentucky

High school sports gather a significantly larger number of fans than college and professional sports in the U.S. Adolescent and adult students in high schools and colleges (aged 12-25) are among the most vulnerable population to substance use. Event planners, risk managers, and emergency medical service personnel can extrapolate the mass loads of drugs in wastewater in this study to evaluate the spectator behavior in relatively larger basketball gatherings. Thirty-three illicit and prescribed psychotic drug residues (out of target 36) and five new psychoactive substances (NPS, out of target 40) were quantified in wastewater, using ultra-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry, discharged during a college and a high school basketball games that were played in the same stadium in Kentucky. The wastewater concentrations of amphetamine, methylphenidate, hydromorphone were significantly higher (p ≤ 0.040) during a high school basketball game whereas cocaine, hydrocodone, and gabapentin was significantly higher (p ≤ 0.006) in a college basketball game. Higher cocaine to its metabolite ratio suggested that a significant amount of cocaine may have directly discharged down the drain during the college basketball game. Two synthetic cathinones (methcathinone and 4-methyl pentedrone) and three other NPSs (4-ANPP, mCPP, and 4-methylamphetamine) were also quantified in wastewater indicate the prevalence of NPSs in Kentucky. This is the first report of quantified substances of potential abuses at basketball games.

A critical review on the detection, occurrence, fate, toxicity, and removal of cannabinoids in the water system and the environment

Cannabinoids are a group of organic compounds found in cannabis. Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), the two major constituents of cannabinoids, and their metabolites are contaminants of emerging concern due to the limited information on their environmental impacts. As well, their releases to the water systems and environment are expected to increase due to recent legalization. Solid-phase extraction is the most common technique for the extraction and pre-concentration of cannabinoids in water samples as well as a clean-up step after the extraction of cannabinoids from solid samples. Liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry is the most common technique used for the analysis of cannabinoids. THC and its metabolites have been detected in wastewater, surface water, and drinking water. In particular, 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC-COOH) has been detected at concentrations up to 2590 and 169 ng L^-1 in untreated and treated wastewater, respectively, 79.9 ng L^-1 in surface water, and 1 ng L^-1 in drinking water. High removal of cannabinoids has been observed in wastewater treatment plants; this is likely a result of adsorption due to the low aqueous solubility of cannabinoids. Based on the estrogenicity and cytotoxicity studies and modelling, it has been predicted that THC and THC-COOH pose moderate risk for adverse impact on the environment. While chlorination and photo-oxidation have been shown to be effective in the removal of THC-COOH, they also produce by-products that are potentially more toxic than regulated disinfection by-products. The potential of indirect exposure to cannabinoids and their metabolites through recreational water is of great interest. As cannabinoids and especially their by-products may have adverse impacts on the environment and public health, more studies on their occurrence in various types of water and environmental systems, as well as on their environmental toxicity, would be required to accurately assess their impact on the environment and public health.

Acclimatization of microbial community of submerged membrane bioreactor treating hospital wastewater

This study was performed to understand the dynamics of the microbial community of submerged membrane bioreactor during the acclimatization process to treat the hospital wastewater. In this regard, three acclimatization phases were examined using a mixture of synthetic wastewater (SWW) and real hospital wastewater (HWW) in the following proportions; In Phase 1: 75:25 v/v (SWW: HWW); Phase 2: 50:50 v/v (SWW: HWW); and Phase 3: 25:75 v/v (SWW: HWW) of wastewater. The microbial community was analyzed using Illumina high throughput sequencing to identify the bacterial and micro-eukaryotes community in SMBR. The acclimatization study clearly demonstrated that shift in microbial community composition with time. The dominance of pathogenic and degrading bacterial communities such as Mycobacterium, Pseudomonas, and Zoogloea was observed at the phase 3 of acclimatization. This study witnessed the major shift in the micro-eukaryotes community, and the proliferation of fungi Basidiomycota was observed in phase 3 of acclimatization.

Wastewater-based epidemiology pilot study to examine drug use in the Western United States

The extent of prescription and illicit drug abuse in geographically isolated rural and micropolitan communities in the intermountain western United States (US) has not been well tracked. The goal of this pilot study was to accurately measure drug dose consumption rates (DCR) between two select populations, normalize the data and compare the DCRs to similar communities. To learn about patterns of drug abuse between the two disparate communities, we used the emergent field of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). A rapid, quantitative and systematic process for the determination of multiple classes of prescribed and illicit drugs was applied to influent wastewater samples. Influent samples were collected over the course of three months (April to June 2019) at two wastewater treatment plants representing a small urban and a rural community. Collection of sewage influent included 24-h composite samples and the use of polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS), time-weighted samplers. Using the results from the composite sampling data, DCRs per 1000 population could be calculated from the concentration data and the use of excretion correction factors. The following 18 compounds: amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDA, MDMA, morphine, 6-acetylmorphine, methadone, EDDP, codeine, benzoylecgonine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, noroxycodone, ketamine, fluoxetine, tramadol, and ritalinic acid; represent a subset of the targeted analytes that were consistently measured at detectable concentration levels, and present at both sites. Following normalization of the drug measurements to influent flow rates and per capita, the small urban community demonstrated greater collective excretion rates (CER) than the rural community, with the exceptions of amphetamine and methamphetamine.

Rat cardiomyocyte H9c2(2-1)-based sulforhodamine B assay as a promising in vitro method to assess the biological component of effluent toxicity

The treatment of wastewaters is crucial to maintain the ecological status of receiving waters, and thereby guarantee the protection of aquatic life and human health. Wastewater quality evaluation is conventionally based on physicochemical parameters, but increasing attention has been paid to integrate physicochemical and biological data. Nevertheless, the regulatory use of fish in biological testing methods has been subject to various ethical and cost concerns, and in vitro cell-based assays have thus become an important topic of interest. Hence, the present study intends: (a) to evaluate the efficiency of two different sample pre-concentration techniques (lyophilisation and solid phase extraction) to assess the toxicity of municipal effluents on rat cardiomyoblast H9c2(2-1) cells, and (b) maximizing the use of the effluent sample collected, to estimate the environmental condition of the receiving environment. The gathered results demonstrate that the H9c2(2-1) sulforhodamine B-based assay is an appropriate in vitro method to assess biological effluent toxicity, and the best results were attained by lyophilising the sample as pre-treatment. Due to its response, the H9c2(2-1) cell line might be a possible alternative in vitro model for fish lethal testing to assess the toxicity of municipal effluents. The physicochemical status of the sample suggests a high potential for eutrophication, and iron exceeded the permissible level for wastewater discharge, possibly due to the addition of ferric chloride for wastewater treatment. In general, the levels of carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole are higher than those reported for other countries, and both surpassed the aquatic protective values for long-term exposure.

Review on the occurrence and biological effects of illicit drugs in aquatic ecosystems

Illicit drugs (IDs) and their metabolites are recognized as contaminants of emerging concern. After consumption, illicit drugs are partially metabolized and excreted unchanged in urine and feces or as active metabolites reaching wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Furthermore, most WWTPs are insufficient in the treatment of effluents containing IDs, which may be released into aquatic ecosystems. Once in the water or sediment, these substances may interact and affect non-target organisms and some evidences suggest that illicit drugs may exhibit pseudo-persistence because of a continuous environmental input, resulting in long-term exposure to aquatic organisms that may be negatively affected by these biologically active compounds. We reviewed the literature on origin and consumption, human metabolism after consumption, aquatic occurrences, and toxicity of the major groups of illicit drugs (opioids, cannabis, synthetic drugs, and cocaine). As a result, it could be concluded that illicit drugs and their metabolites are widespread in diverse aquatic ecosystems in levels able to trigger sublethal effects to non-target organisms, besides to concentrate in seafood. This class of emerging contaminants represents a new environmental concern to academics, managers, and policymakers, whose would be able to assess risks and identify proper responses to reduce environmental impacts.

Impact of seasonality, redox conditions, travel distances and initial concentrations on micropollutant removal during riverbank filtration at four sites

Riverbank filtration (RBF) is a reliable water purification technique that has proven to be suitable for the removal of organic micropollutants. Its removal efficiency and dependency on a variety of factors such as redox conditions, temperatures, geology, travel times, level of initial micropollutant concentrations and seasonality were investigated during three seasonal sampling campaigns. Two anoxic (silty sand, Ems river) and two oxic (gravel, Ruhr river) RBF sites in Germany with different travel distances (42-633 m) were studied. Micropollutant concentrations were examined using a large-volume direct injection liquid chromatography method coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry. Seasonal differences in micropollutant concentrations in the rivers were observed for chlorotolurone, diclofenac, terbuthylazine, mecoprop-P, MCPA (2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid) and propyphenazone. Redox dependencies in RBF were only found for sulfamethoxazole, propyphenazone, terbuthylazine and carbamazepine. Data for oxazepam, tramadol, N-desmethyl-tramadol, tilidin-desmethyl, carbamazepine and carbendazim indicate a required minimum travel distance of e.g. 100-200 m for the complete removal. Notably, travel time did not seem to be a substantial factor for their removal. High conductivity aquifers are also well suited for micropollutant removal. Seasonal initial concentration level variations showed no impact on the resulting abstraction well concentrations. Although the calculated removal efficiencies varied, they proved to be improper for seasonal raw water quality comparison. Knowledge of micropollutant behavior in riverbank filtration was broadened and RBF proved to be well suited for effective micropollutant reduction throughout the year, yet for a complete removal long travel distances or further technical purification steps are required.

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in a drinking water resource of Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Development Demonstration Zone in China: Occurrence and human health risk assessment

The occurrence, partition, and human health risk of thirteen pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been investigated in surface water, overlying water, pore water and sediment samples from Dianshan Lake of Yangtze River Delta Ecology and Greenery Integration Development Demonstration Zone in China. PPCPs were ubiquitous in aqueous phase and sediments from Dianshan Lake. Sulfamethazine (SMZ) was dominated in surface water and overlying water, while ketoprofen (KPF) was rich in sediment. The total concentration of PPCPs ranged from 0.38-85.27 ng/L, 24.26-130.03 ng/L and 5.39-149.84 μg/kg in surface water, overlying water and sediment, respectively, which were in middle levels compared with these reported in other aquatic environment in China. Naproxen (NPX), sulfadimethoxine (SDM), sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and sulfamethazine (SMZ) in surface water showed a relatively higher level in lake side than those in lake center suggesting that a mixed containment source of human- and animal-derived from the areas around lake. The significant season variations of most PPCPs were mainly attributed to their usage, water temperature and dilution effect. The partition behaviors of PPCPs in sediment-overlying water and sediment-pore water system were mainly affected by their logK_ow values, and showed weak correlation with total organic carbon (TOC) content in sediment and molecular weights of PPCPs. Preliminary results indicated that PPCPs in Dianshan Lake have not posed a high risk to human health by exposure to drinking water for all age groups. Nevertheless, their potential to cause the mixture toxicity and resistance genes cannot be neglected. This work will contribute to the clear picture of PPCPs contamination in drinking water source in the Demonstration Zone, and provide reliable and simple-to-use information to regulators on the exposure and risk levels of PPCPs, as well as recommendations for future research.

Sulfamethoxazole/Trimethoprim ratio as a new marker in raw wastewaters: A critical review

Global Trimethoprim (TMP) and Sulfamethoxazole (SMX) occurrences in raw wastewaters were systematically collected from the literature (n = 140 articles) in order to assess the relevance of using the SMX/TMP ratio as a marker of the main origin of wastewaters. These two antibiotics were selected due to their frequent use in association (i.e. co-trimoxazole) in a 5:1 ratio (SMX:TMP) for medication purposes, generating a unique opportunity to globally evaluate the validity of this ratio based on concentration values. Several parameters (e.g. sorption, biodegradation) may affect the theoretical SMX/TMP ratio. However, the collected data highlighted the good agreement between the theoretical ratio and the experimental one, especially in wastewater treatment plant influents and hospital effluents. Only livestock effluents displayed a very high SMX/TMP ratio, indicative of the very significant use of sulfonamide alone in this industry. Conversely, several countries displayed low SMX/TMP ratio values, highlighting local features in the human pharmacopoeia. This review provides new insights in order to develop an easy to handle and sound marker of wastewater origins (i.e. human/livestock), beyond atypical local customs.

Assessing Emissions from Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Based on Temporal High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data

This study presents a nontarget approach to detect discharges from pharmaceutical production in municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and to estimate their relevance on the total emissions. Daily composite samples were collected for 3 months at two WWTPs in Switzerland, measured using liquid chromatography high-resolution mass spectrometry, and time series were generated for all features detected. The extent of intensity variation in the time series was used to differentiate relatively constant domestic inputs from highly fluctuating industrial emissions. We show that an intensity variation threshold of 10 correctly classifies compounds of known origin and reveals clear differences between the two WWTPs. At the WWTP receiving wastewater from a pharmaceutical manufacturing site, (i) 10 times as many potential industrial emissions were detected as compared to the WWTP receiving purely domestic wastewater; (ii) for 11 pharmaceuticals peak concentrations, >10 μg/L and up to 214 μg/L were quantified, which are clearly above typical municipal wastewater concentrations; and (iii) a pharmaceutical not authorized in Switzerland was identified. Signatures of potential industrial emissions were even traceable at the downstream Rhine monitoring station at a >4000-fold dilution. Several of them occurred repeatedly, suggesting that they were linked to regular production, not to accidents. Our results demonstrate that small wastewater volumes from a single industry not only left a clear signature in the effluents of the respective WWTP but also influenced the water quality of one of Europe's most important river systems. Overall, these findings indicate that pharmaceutical production is a relevant emission source even in highly developed countries with a strong focus on water quality, such as Switzerland.

Occurrence, removal and environmental risk of markers of five drugs of abuse in urban wastewater systems in South Australia

The occurrence and fate of five drugs of abuse in raw influent and treated effluent wastewater were investigated over a period of 1 year in the Adelaide region of South Australia. Four wastewater treatment plants were chosen for this study and monitored for five drugs which included cocaine in the form of its metabolite benzoylecgonine (BE), methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) and two opioids (codeine and morphine) during the period April 2016 to February 2017. Alongside concentrations in raw sewage, the levels of drugs in the treated effluent were assessed and removal efficiencies were calculated. Drug concentrations were measured by mixed-mode solid phase extraction and liquid chromatography coupled to a quadrupole mass spectrometer. Drug concentrations detected in the raw wastewater ranged from 7 to 6510 ng/L and < LOD to 4264 ng/L in treated effluent samples. Drug removal rates varied seasonally and spatially. The mass loads of drugs discharged into the environment were in descending order: codeine > methamphetamine > morphine > MDMA > BE. Results showed that all the targeted drugs were on average incompletely removed by wastewater treatment, with removal performance highest for morphine (94%) and lowest for MDMA (58%). A screening-level environmental risk assessment was subsequently performed for the drugs based on effluent wastewater concentrations. Based on calculated risk quotients, overall environmental risk for these compounds appears low, with codeine and methamphetamine likely to pose the greatest potential risk to receiving environments. Given the recognised limitations of current ecotoxicological models and risk assessment methods for these and other pharmaceutical drugs, the potential for environmental impacts associated with the continuous discharge of these compounds in wastewater effluents should not be overlooked.

Prospects for finding Junge variability-lifetime relationships for micropollutants in the Danube river

Persistence of chemical pollutants is difficult to measure in the field. Junge variability-lifetime relationships, correlating the relative standard deviation of measured concentrations with residence time, have been used to estimate persistence of air pollutants. Junge relationships for micropollutants in rivers could provide evidence that half-lives of compounds estimated from laboratory and field data are representative of half-lives in a specific system, location and time. Here, we explore the hypothesis that Junge relationships could exist for micropollutants in the Danube river using: (1) concentrations of six hypothetical chemicals modeled using the STREAM-EU fate and transport model, and (2) concentrations of nine micropollutants measured in the third Joint Danube Survey (JDS3) combined with biodegradation half-lives reported in the literature. Using STREAM-EU, we found that spatial and temporal variability in modeled concentrations was inversely correlated with half-life for the four micropollutants with half-lives ≤90 days. For these four modeled micropollutants, we found Junge relationships with slopes significantly different from zero in the temporal variability of concentrations at 88% of the 67 JDS3 measurement sites, and in the spatial variability of concentrations on 36% out of 365 modeled days. A Junge relationship significant at the 95% confidence level was not found in the spatial variability of nine micropollutants measured in the JDS3, nor in STREAM-EU-modeled concentrations extracted for the dates and locations of the JDS3. Nevertheless, our model scenarios suggest that Junge relationships might be found in future measurements of spatial and temporal variability of micropollutants, especially in temporal variability of pollutants measured downstream in the Danube river.

Long-term tracking of opioid consumption in two United States cities using wastewater-based epidemiology approach

Access to near-real time opioid use data is essential to the effective management of the U.S. opioid crisis. Current narcotic data collection methods are limited by time delay and would be complimented by a rapid data acquisition technique. Use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) analysis may offer access to near real-time data on opioid consumption but application in the United States has been limited. From 2015 to 2017, monthly 24-h time-weighted composite samples of municipal raw wastewater from two Midwestern U.S. cities were routinely analyzed using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry for morphine, codeine, oxycodone, heroin, fentanyl, and select opioid metabolites. Concentrations of opioids (ng/L) in raw wastewater from City 1 and 2, respectively, were: morphine (713 ± 38; 306 ± 29; detection frequency (DF): 100%), oxycodone (17.8 ± 1.1; 78 ± 6; DF: 100%), codeine (332 ± 37; 100 ± 27; DF: 93%), heroin (41 ± 16; 9 ± 11; DF: 81%), and fentanyl (1.7 ± 0.2; 1.0 ± 0.5; DF: 62%). Average opioid consumption rates estimated using WBE ranged between 9 and 2590 mg/day/1000 persons. Anticipated overdoses and overdose-deaths calculated from analyte concentrations in wastewater forecasted 200 opioid-related overdoses/year and 39 opioid related overdose-deaths/year across the two cities during the year 2016, which aligned well with observed coroner-reported opioid deaths. This long-term U.S. screening study of opioids in wastewater was the first to utilize wastewater epidemiological data to estimate the number of expected overdose and overdose-deaths, and to identify detectable levels of the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl in community wastewater consistently over the course of one whole year.

Impact of meteorological and social events on human-excreted contaminant loads in raw wastewater: From daily to weekly dynamics

The temporal dynamics of the wastewater influent loads of 25 drug target residues (DTR, both pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs) was assessed during 84 consecutive days. This monitoring scale enables longer temporal patterns than weekday/weekend patterns to be explored. In this study, we focus on day to day variations and the potential statistical correlation of each DTR analyzed in order to better understand the potential forcings that lead to the load variation of DTRs (alone or in clusters). The weekly patterns based on the weekly loads of DTRs were also analyzed and the impact of social and meteorological events on their variations was investigated. Two cold events occurred during the monitoring period and were associated with the highest loads of analgesics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, as well as the lowest loads of stimulants. During the Easter holidays, a significant decrease in some year-long medication as well as analgesics was found, consistent with the demographic decrease within the catchment during this period. Lastly, a good correlation between the academic calendar and the loads of stimulants was found, emphasizing the overrepresentation of students in the consumption of recreational drugs. This study furnishes new insights in order to better understand the variations in DTR loads in wastewater influents, beyond the weekday/weekend pattern and the seasonal effect. Further investigations remain necessary, especially a real-time monitoring of the population figures within the catchment in order to improve our understanding of these results.

Impacts of solids retention time and antibiotic loading in activated sludge systems on secondary effluent water quality and microbial community structure

Solids retention time (SRT) is one of the most important factors in designing and operating activated sludge systems for biological wastewater treatment. Longer SRTs have been shown to alter the structure and function of microbial communities, thereby leading to improved treatment efficacy with respect to bulk and trace organics, nutrient removal, and membrane fouling. Research has also shown that longer SRTs and/or higher influent antibiotic concentrations may lead to increased prevalence of antibiotic resistance. However, it is unclear whether elevated, yet subclinical, concentrations of antibiotics also impact the overall microbial community. The purpose of this study was to characterize changes in microbial community structure in a laboratory-scale activated sludge system as a function of SRT (2-20 days) and influent concentrations (1×-100× ambient) of ampicillin, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, trimethoprim, and vancomycin. Changes in microbial community structure were evaluated based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and microbial community function was evaluated based on changes in effluent water quality, including attenuation of bulk and trace organics. The results confirmed that longer SRTs-but not antibiotic loadings-had a significant impact on microbial community structure and effluent water quality. Therefore, moderate spikes in influent antibiotic concentrations are not expected to adversely impact biological wastewater treatment. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Longer SRTs lead to changes in microbial community structure, including alpha and beta diversity and relative abundance of various taxa. Enhanced TOrC attenuation at longer SRTs may be linked to biomass abundance rather than changes in microbial community structure. Moderate spikes in influent antibiotic concentrations do not impact activated sludge performance or microbial community structure. The phyla Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes comprise a majority of the microbial community in primary effluent and mixed liquor.

A laboratory-study on the analytical determination and removal processes of THC-COOH and bezoylecgonine in the activated sludge reactor

The present study focused on 11-nor-9carboxy-Δ9-THC (THC-COOH) and Benzoylecgonine (BE), the most common metabolites of cannabis and cocaine, respectively, present in the domestic sewage entering the wastewater treatment plants. The aims of the study were: (1) to validate the analytical method of detection in wastewater and sludge; (2) to determine contribution of biodegradation and other processes to the removal in the biological reactor of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and the response of biomass to different drug concentrations. The Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled to tandem Mass Spectrometry method showed to be repeatable and reliable (recovery>75%; repeatability<10-15%; bias uncertainty<10) for measurements in wastewater; the ultrasound assisted extraction (USE) demonstrated to be reliable as pre-treatment of activated sludge solid phase. Both drugs were fully removed from the liquid phase in the lab-scale biological reactor within 24 h. Biodegradation was the main BE removal mechanism, and the first order kinetic model provided the best fitting of the experimental data. THC-COOH was mainly removed due to a combination of adsorption and biodegradation; adsorption was better described by the pseudo-second order kinetic model and the Freundlich isotherm. Both drugs at the higher concentrations caused inhibition of nitrogen oxidation and carbon removal.

Assessment of 83 pharmaceuticals in WWTP influent and effluent samples by UHPLC-MS/MS: Hourly variation

The removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is variable and some of these compounds pass these plants almost intact and others presenting a removal efficiency close to 100%. Their incomplete removal results in a continuous discharge of pharmaceuticals into the environment. To assess the profile of contamination of influents and effluents over a day, a set of 83 pharmaceuticals were evaluated hourly in a WWTP in Leiria, Portugal. The composite samples of the influent and effluent were also collected. Concentrations varied from <MDL for ketoprofen, clarithromycin, ofloxacin, and diltiazem to 63.97 μg/L for caffeine in the WWTP influent composite sample and <MDL for clarithromycin, bupropion, and diltiazem to 2.01 μg/L for O-desmethylvenlafaxine for effluent composite sample. Concentrations in the range of μg/L were found for hydroxyibuprofen, salicylic acid, d,l-norephedrine, and caffeine in the WWTP influent, and diclofenac, carbamazepine, O-desmethylvenlafaxine in the WWTP effluents. For the samples collected hourly, thirty-eight and twenty-nine pharmaceuticals were detected in at least one WWTP sample. In the WWTP influent the total concentration of detected pharmaceuticals was higher between 15 and 22 h and lower in the period from 23 to 10 h in the morning. In the WWTP effluent, a slight variation was noticed throughout the sampling hours. Carbamazepine, fluoxetine, sertraline, atorvastatin, caffeine, simvastatin, and trazodone were the pharmaceuticals with risk quotient (RQ) >1 in WWTP influents, and carbamazepine, fluoxetine, sertraline the pharmaceuticals with an RQ > 1 in WWTP effluents.

Long-term monitoring of drug consumption patterns in a large-sized European city using wastewater-based epidemiology: Comparison of two sampling schemes for the assessment of multiannual trends

A comprehensive study aimed at monitoring of temporal variability of illicit drugs (heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, MDMA, methamphetamine and cannabis) and therapeutic opiate methadone in a large-sized European city using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) was conducted in the city of Zagreb, Croatia, during an 8-year period (2009-2016). The study addressed the impact of different sampling schemes on the assessment of temporal drug consumption patterns, in particular multiannual consumption trends and documented the possible errors associated with the one-week sampling scheme. The highest drug consumption prevalence was determined for cannabis (from 59 ± 18 to 156 ± 37 doses/day/1000 inhabitants 15-64 years), followed by heroin (from 11 ± 10 to 71 ± 19 doses/day/1000 inhabitants 15-64 years), cocaine (from 8.3 ± 0.9 to 23 ± 4.0 doses/day/1000 inhabitants 15-64 years) and amphetamine (from 1.3 ± 0.9 to 21 ± 6.1 doses/day/1000 inhabitants 15-64 years) whereas the consumption of MDMA was comparatively lower (from 0.18 ± 0.08 to 2.7 doses ±0.7 doses/day/1000 inhabitants 15-64 years). The drug consumption patterns were characterized by clearly enhanced weekend and Christmas season consumption of stimulating drugs (cocaine, MDMA and amphetamine) and somewhat lower summer consumption of almost all drugs. Pronounced multiannual consumption trends were determined for most of the illicit drugs. The investigated 8-year period was characterized by a marked increase of the consumption of pure cocaine (1.6-fold), THC (2.7-fold), amphetamine (16-fold) and MDMA (15-fold) and a concomitant decrease (2.3-fold) of the consumption of pure heroin. The heroin consumption decrease was associated with an increase of methadone consumption (1.4-fold), which can be linked to its use in the heroin substitution therapy. The estimated number of average methadone doses consumed in the city of Zagreb was in a good agreement with the prescription data on treated opioid addicts in Croatia.

A study through batch tests on the analytical determination and the fate and removal of methamphetamine in the biological treatment of domestic wastewater

Methamphetamine (MET) is one of the most used illicit drugs in Europe and is recognized as one of the Emerging Organic Micropollutants. It is discharged into the sewerage system from different sources and then enters the wastewater treatment plants. The present study aimed at providing a better knowledge of the fate of MET through the wastewater treatment plants. The study addressed two different issues: (1) optimization of the analytical methods for MET determination in both liquid and sludge phases, focusing on the effects of potentially interfering substances and (2) investigation on the behaviour of MET in the biological treatment process, with specific concern for the biomass activity at different drug concentrations. Results of the study on issue 1 highlighted that the applied analytical method for MET determination (UPLC-MS/MS) is affected by the main components of wastewater for about 9-23%, which is comparable with the uncertainties of the method (about ± 28%). The method showed also to be repeatable and reliable (recovery > 75%; repeatability < 10-15%; bias uncertainty < 30%), and relatively easy-to-use. Therefore, it can be considered suitable for measurements on routine base in the WWTPs. Batch tests conducted to address issue 2 showed total removal of 84, 90, and 96% at 50, 100, and 200 ng/L initial MET concentration, respectively, for a contact time of 6 h. The removal process was mainly ascribed to the biological activity of both heterotrophic and autotrophic bacteria. The pseudo first-order kinetic model provided the best fitting of the experimental data of the overall biological processes at all the tested concentrations. Furthermore, the respirometric tests showed that MET does not induce any inhibition. Adsorption of MET on activated sludge was always very low.

Estimation of the consumption of illicit drugs during special events in two communities in Western Kentucky, USA using sewage epidemiology

Sewage epidemiology is a cost-effective, comprehensive, and non-invasive technique capable of determining semi-real-time community usage of drugs utilizing the concentration of drug residues in wastewater, wastewater inflow, and the population size served by a wastewater treatment plant. In this study, semi-real-time consumption rates of ten illicit drugs were determined using sewage epidemiology during special events including Independence Day, the 2017 solar eclipse, and the first week of an academic semester in the Midwestern United States. The average per-capita consumption rate of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and THC were significantly different between two similar-sized communities during Independence Day observation week (p<0.046) and a typical week (p<0.001). Compared to a typical day, the consumption rate of amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, morphine, and methadone was significantly higher on Independence Day (p<0.021) and during solar eclipse observation (p=0.020). The estimated percentage of the population that consumed cocaine in a community is similar to the conventionally estimated consumption of cocaine; however, the combined estimated population that consumed amphetamine and methamphetamine based on sewage epidemiology was ~2 to 4 fold higher than the conventional estimates. This study is the first to compare community use of drugs during special events in the USA using sewage epidemiology.

Illicit drug ketamine induces adverse effects from behavioral alterations and oxidative stress to p53-regulated apoptosis in medaka fish under environmentally relevant exposures

With increasing problems of drug abuse worldwide, aquatic ecosystems are contaminated by human pharmaceuticals from the discharge of hospital or municipal effluent. However, ecotoxicity data and related toxic mechanism for neuroactive controlled or illicit drugs are still lacking, so assessing the associated hazardous risk is difficult. This study aims to investigate the behavioral changes, oxidative stress, gene expression and neurotoxic or apoptosis effect(s) in larvae of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes) with environmentally relevant exposures of ketamine (KET) solutions for 1-14 days. KET exposure at an environmentally relevant concentration (0.004 μM) to 40 μM conferred specific patterns in larval swimming behavior during 24 h. At 14 days, such exposure induced dose- and/or time-dependent alteration on reactive oxygen species induction, the activity of antioxidants catalase and superoxide dismutase, glutathione S-transferase and malondialdehyde contents in fish bodies. KET-induced oxidative stress disrupted the expression of acetylcholinesterase and p53-regulated apoptosis pathways and increased caspase expression in medaka larvae. The toxic responses of medaka larvae, in terms of chemical effects, were qualitatively analogous to those of zebrafish and mammals. Our results implicate a toxicological impact of waterborne KET on fish development and human health, for potential ecological risks of directly releasing neuroactive drugs-containing wastewater into the aquatic environment.

Wastewater Analysis for Community-Wide Drugs Use Assessment

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) complements existing epidemiology-based estimation techniques and provides objective, evidence-based estimates of illicit drug use. After consumption, biomarkers - drugs and their metabolites - excreted to toilets and flushed into urban sewer networks can be measured in raw wastewater samples. The quantified loads can serve as an estimate for the collective consumption of all people contributing to the wastewater sample. This transdisciplinary approach, further explained in this chapter, has developed, matured and is now established for monitoring substances such as cocaine and amphetamine-type stimulants. Research currently underway is refining WBE to new applications including new psychoactive substances (NPS).

LC-MS-MS Method Development and Analysis of Stimulants, Opiates, Synthetic Opiates, PCP, and Benzodiazepines in Wastewater. Preponderance of these Drugs During Football Games

A method was developed for the analysis of stimulant drugs, opiates, synthetic opiates, PCP, and benzodiazepines in wastewater samples using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS-MS). A total of 33 compounds (stimulant-type drugs and metabolites of opiates, synthetic opiates, PCP, and benzodiazepines) were analyzed. These drugs included amphetamine (Amp) (1), methamphetamine (Meth) (2), methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) (3), methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) (4), methylenedioxyethylamphetamine (MDEA) (5), benzoylecgonine (BE, the major metabolite of Coc) (6), cocaine (Coc) (7), 6-monoacetylmorphine (6-MAM, the primary urinary metabolite of heroin) (8), codeine (9), hydrocodone (10), hydromorphone (11), morphine (12), norhydrocodone (the primary urinary metabolite of hydrocodone) (13), oxycodone (14), oxymorphone (15), 2-ethylidine-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrolidine (EDDP, the primary urinary metabolite of methadone) (16), fentanyl (17), meperidine (18), methadone (19), norfentanyl (the primary urinary metabolite of fentanyl) (20), normeperidine (the primary urinary metabolite of meperidine) (21), phencyclidine (PCP) (22), tramadol (23), alprazolam (24), temazepam (25), nordiazepam (26), chlordiazepoxide (27), flurazepam (28), oxazepam (29), α-OH-alprazolam (the primary urinary metabolite of alprazolam) (30), α-OH-triazolam (the primary urinary metabolite of triazolam) (31), 2-OH-ethylflurazepam (the primary urinary metabolite of flurazepam) (32), and 7-NH₂-flunitrazepam (the primary urinary metabolite of flunitrazepam) (33). These drugs were chosen because of their widespread abuse. Wastewater samples were collected at both the Oxford Wastewater Treatment Plant in Oxford, Mississippi (MS), and the University Wastewater Treatment Plant in University, MS. Samples were collected on weekends on which the Ole Miss Rebel football team held home games (Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, University, MS 38677). The collected samples were analyzed using a validated method and found to contain Amp, Meth, MDMA, MDA, Coc, BE, codeine, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, morphine, norhydrocodone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, tramadol, EDDP, meperidine, normeperidine, methadone, alprazolam, α-OH-alprazolam, nordiazepam, oxazepam, and temazepam. None of the samples contained MDEA, 6-MAM, fentanyl, norfentanyl, PCP, chlordiazepoxide, flurazepam, 2-OH-ethylflurazepam, 7-NH₂-flunitrazepam, and α-OH-triazolam.