[Pharmwaste] Rivers of Coke

Tue, 9 Aug 2005 08:17:39 -0400

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Drug enforcement officials may soon have an accurate yet secret way to =
detect
drug use -- the toilets of the world.=20

Italian scientists discovered that nearly 10 pounds of cocaine residues =
flow
into Italy's Po River every day.=20

How is Italy's biggest river getting all that coke? From urine. Turns =
out
that coke users, like beer drinkers, just rent their substance of =
choice.
Although in the case of cocaine, it's transformed by the liver into
benzoylecgonine , or BE, before being excreted. BE can't be produced by =
any
other means, so when it's found in your urine sample, that spells =
trouble
with a big T.=20

Revealed Friday in the journal Environmental Health, this is the first =
time
the byproducts of illicit drugs like cocaine have been detected in river
water.=20

More surprisingly, the level of residues translates into at least 40,000
daily doses of coke snorted by residents of the Po Valley -- a great =
deal
more than official estimates of 15,000 doses of cocaine per month.=20

"We expected our field data on cocaine consumption to give estimates =
within
the range of the official estimates, or perhaps lower, but certainly not
higher," wrote Ettore Zuccato, of the Mario Negri Institute for
Pharmacological Research in Milan, Italy.=20

Zuccato and his co-researchers decided they could use standard lab =
techniques
to test entire cities or regions and get a rough idea of the level of =
cocaine
use. Statistics about drug use are notoriously inaccurate, given that =
drug
users don't generally like to fill out surveys. Since chemistry doesn't =
lie,
this method offers a direct way of measuring how much coke is actually =
being
used.=20

The researchers first developed a method to measure how much BE was in =
the
surface waters of rivers or in wastewater at sewage-treatment plants =
using
liquid chromatographic separation.=20

Sampling done at other sewage-treatment plants in various Italian cities
confirmed the results.=20

"There is in fact no reasonable mechanism by which cocaine excretion =
products
could accumulate in flowing surface waters," the authors wrote.=20

"It's a seminal piece of research," said Christian Daughton, chief of =
the
environmental chemistry branch at the Environmental Protection Agency's =
Las
Vegas laboratory.=20

Daughton, an expert on pharmaceutical products that find their way into
rivers and lakes, first suggested that illicit drug use could be =
measured
this way in 2001. The technique is an anonymous, noninvasive method of
measuring drug use in a city or community, he said.=20

Depending on how far up the sewage system you go, it could also be used =
to
measure drug use in a prison or neighborhood, Daughton said.=20

"I was shocked that so few scientists showed any interest in the idea at =
the
time," he said.=20

Since nearly all illicit drugs have unique metabolites akin to BE, all =
types
of drug use could be monitored, Daughton said. Measuring metabolites =
instead
the drug itself also eliminates false readings from dumping large =
amounts of
drugs down the drain.=20

Daughton said more work is needed to verify that actual drug use =
corresponds
to Zuccato's estimates.=20

"There's likely more cocaine being used than Zuccato estimates," =
Daughton
said.=20

http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,68434,00.html?tw=3Dwn_tophead_5

=20

=20

Laurie J. Tenace

Environmental Specialist

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555

Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400

PH: (850) 245-8759

FAX: (850) 245-8811

Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us

=20

view our mercury web pages at:=20

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm

=20

=20

=20

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<div class=3DSection1>

Drug =
enforcement
officials may soon have an accurate yet secret way to detect drug use -- =
the
toilets of the world.

Italian =
scientists
discovered that nearly 10 pounds of cocaine residues flow into Italy's =
Po River every day.

How is Italy's =
biggest river getting all that coke? From urine. Turns out that coke =
users, like
beer drinkers, just rent their substance of choice. Although in the case =
of
cocaine, it's transformed by the liver into benzoylecgonine , or BE, =
before
being excreted. BE can't be produced by any other means, so when it's =
found in
your urine sample, that spells trouble with a big T.

Revealed Friday =
in the
journal Environmental Health, this is the first time the byproducts of =
illicit
drugs like cocaine have been detected in river water.

More =
surprisingly, the
level of residues translates into at least 40,000 daily doses of coke =
snorted
by residents of the Po Valley -- a great deal more than official =
estimates of
15,000 doses of cocaine per month.

&quot;We =
expected our
field data on cocaine consumption to give estimates within the range of =
the
official estimates, or perhaps lower, but certainly not higher,&quot; =
wrote
Ettore Zuccato, of the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological =
Research in Milan, Italy.

Zuccato and his
co-researchers decided they could use standard lab techniques to test =
entire
cities or regions and get a rough idea of the level of cocaine use. =
Statistics
about drug use are notoriously inaccurate, given that drug users don't
generally like to fill out surveys. Since chemistry doesn't lie, this =
method
offers a direct way of measuring how much coke is actually being used. =

The researchers =
first
developed a method to measure how much BE was in the surface waters of =
rivers
or in wastewater at sewage-treatment plants using liquid chromatographic
separation.

Sampling done =
at other
sewage-treatment plants in various Italian cities confirmed the results. =

&quot;There is =
in fact
no reasonable mechanism by which cocaine excretion products could =
accumulate in
flowing surface waters,&quot; the authors wrote.

&quot;It's a =
seminal
piece of research,&quot; said Christian Daughton, chief of the =
environmental
chemistry branch at the Environmental Protection Agency's Las Vegas =
laboratory.

Daughton, an =
expert on
pharmaceutical products that find their way into rivers and lakes, first
suggested that illicit drug use could be measured this way in 2001. The
technique is an anonymous, noninvasive method of measuring drug use in a =
city
or community, he said.

Depending on =
how far up
the sewage system you go, it could also be used to measure drug use in a =
prison
or neighborhood, Daughton said.

&quot;I was =
shocked that
so few scientists showed any interest in the idea at the time,&quot; he =
said.

Since nearly =
all illicit
drugs have unique metabolites akin to BE, all types of drug use could be
monitored, Daughton said. Measuring metabolites instead the drug itself =
also
eliminates false readings from dumping large amounts of drugs down the =
drain.

Daughton said =
more work
is needed to verify that actual drug use corresponds to Zuccato's =
estimates.

&quot;There's =
likely
more cocaine being used than Zuccato estimates,&quot; Daughton said. =

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'><a
href=3D"http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,68434,00.html?tw=3Dwn_to=
phead_5">http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,68434,00.html?tw=3Dwn_t=
ophead_5</a></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Laurie
J. Tenace</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Environmental
Specialist</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Florida
Department of Environmental Protection</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>2600</span></font><font
 size=3D2><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'> Blair Stone Road, =
MS</span></font><font
size=3D2><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'> 4555</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>Tallahassee</span></font><font
 size=3D2><span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>, Florida =
32399-2400</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>PH:
(850) 245-8759</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>FAX:
(850) 245-8811</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'><a
href=3D"mailto:Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.us">Laurie.Tenace@dep.state.fl.=
us</a></span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:11.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'>view
our mercury web pages at: </span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt'><a
href=3D"http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm">=
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm</a></span=
></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:11.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:11.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D2 face=3DArial><span =
style=3D'font-size:11.0pt'>&nbsp;</span></font></p>

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