scholarly journals Neuropsychiatric pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in wastewater treatment plants: a review

2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros G. Asimakopoulos ◽  
Kurunthachalam Kannan

Environmental contextNeuropsychiatric pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs in wastewaters are of increasing environmental concern. We compile the recent literature and evaluate the concentrations and profiles of various drugs and their removal efficiencies in wastewater treatment plants. The sewage epidemiology approach, used in the estimation of drug usage in communities, is discussed, and we make recommendations for future research in this area. AbstractNeuropsychiatric pharmaceuticals and illicit drugs encompass a broad range of compounds including opioids, amphetamine-type stimulants, cannabinoids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, antipsychotics, anaesthetics, anti-epileptics and mood stabilisers, lysergic compounds, sympathomimetic amines and cocaine derivatives. In this article, we review studies on the occurrence and fate of these drugs in wastewater treatment plants. In general, among various drugs studied, the concentrations and detection frequencies of opioids and cocaine derivatives were the highest in wastewaters. The forensic analysis of wastewaters suggests that cocaine and opioids usage has increased. Given the fact that data on drug usage can be used for making regulatory decisions and policies, this review focuses on understanding the sources and environmental dynamics of neuropsychiatric and illicit drugs. There is a pressing need for more research on the magnitude and extent of illicit drug consumption. The ‘sewage epidemiology’ approach, currently applied in the estimation of illicit drug consumption in communities, is reviewed. The field of wastewater research has been advancing in multipronged paths, incorporating concepts in analytical chemistry, organic chemistry, environmental chemistry, biochemistry, sewage engineering, drug epidemiology and statistics. Future prospects with regard to the occurrence and environmental fate of illicit and psychoactive drugs are recommended.

Author(s):  
Rosely Valéria Rodrigues ◽  
Cleitiane de Jesus Gomes Silva ◽  
Giovanna Lorena Nery Tavernard ◽  
Sérgio Valério Escobar Filho ◽  
Úrsula Melo de Souza Maia

Aim: To perform a comparative analysis of the pattern of illicit drug consumption among students at the Porto Velho campus of the Federal University of Rondônia in 2011 and 2017. Study design: This is a cross-sectional and longitudinal study. Place and Duration of Study: Federal University of Rondonia Foundation (UNIR) campus José Ribeiro Filho, Porto Velho – Rondonia (Brazil), 2017. Methodology: The sample in 2017 comprised 352 students divided by knowledge centers, to tabulate and consolidate statistical data the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences and Microsoft Excel were used, it was considered a 95.0% CI and 0.5% standard deviation. Results: 54.1% of the students are female, the average age is 23 years old, drug intake in 2017 increased when compared to 2011, alcohol (from 72.3% to 75.9%), tobacco (from 23.0% to 32.2%), marijuana (from 10.7% to 24.7%), there was a similar effect on cocaine and/or crack, amphetamines and/or ecstasy, inhalants, hallucinogen use, opioids, antipsychotics and antidepressants. Conclusion: In the comparison between the years 2011 and 2017, there was an increase in drug usage by college students, it is expected that the results found in this study may promote strategies of action to prevent and combat drug consumption among academics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 62 ◽  
pp. 139-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yusra Bibi Ruhomally ◽  
Nabeelah Banon Jahmeerbaccus ◽  
Muhammad Zaid Dauhoo

We study the NERA model that describes the dynamic evolution of illicit drug usage in a population. The model consists of nonusers (N) and three categories of drug users: the experimental (E) category, the recreational (R) category and the addict (A) category. Two epidemic threshold term known as the reproduction numbers, R0 and μ are defined and derived. Sensitivity analysis of R0 on the parameters are performed in order to determine their relative importance to illicit drug prevalence. The local and global stability of the equilibrium states are also analysed. We also prove that a transcritical bifurcation occurs at R0 = 1. It is shown that an effective campaign of prevention can help to fight against the prevalence of illicit drug consumption. We demonstrate persistence when R0 > 1 and conditions for the extinction of drug consumption are also established. Numerical simulations are performed to verify our model. Our results show that the NERA model can assist policy makers in targeting prevention for maximum effectiveness and can be used to adopt evidence-based policies to better monitor and quantify drug use trends.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1971 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 1037-1041
Author(s):  
Kenneth W. Dumars

Illicit drug usage is a serious medical problem. Parental use of LSD and the effect upon the unborn infant is in question. However, parental use of LSD has often prevented acceptance of those children subsequently relinquished for adoption. In this study we reviewed the records and clinical state of over 1,000 consecutive infants who were relinquished for adoption. Clinical and developmental examination was conducted upon 47 and chromosomal karyotyping upon 41/47 infants whose parents were illicit drug users. In comparison with comparable controls we found no statistically significant difference in the incidence of chromosomal breakage or rearrangement. Parental use of illicit drugs does not in itself constitute a valid reason for the refusal to accept or place an infant relinquished for adoption.


Chemosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 198 ◽  
pp. 377-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alida Cosenza ◽  
Carmelo Massimo Maida ◽  
Donatella Piscionieri ◽  
Serena Fanara ◽  
Francesca Di Gaudio ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 103 (5) ◽  
pp. F467-F473 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eloise Müller-Schulte ◽  
Gerhard Kurlemann ◽  
Anja Harder

ObjectiveTo determine whether prenatal and perinatal maternal consumption of alcohol, tobacco and/or illicit drugs is associated with risk of neuroblastoma.Data sourcesMedline and Embase (both from inception to February 2017), and reference lists of included studies.Study selectionTo be eligible, a study had to be an original report including data on intake of alcohol, tobacco smoking and/or consumption of illicit drugs during pregnancy and risk of neuroblastoma in the child.Data extractionFrom eligible studies, data study characteristics as well as effect measures and confounders were extracted. We assessed unadjusted and confounder-adjusted estimates, performed risk of bias analysis, constructed random-effects models and assessed heterogeneity.ResultsWe identified 14 case–control studies (1987–2016) involving a total of 3114 children with neuroblastoma. Meta-analysis of unadjusted estimates showed an association between alcohol (OR 1.26; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.49), tobacco (OR 1.22; 95% CI 1.04 to 1.44) and illicit drug consumption during pregnancy and risk of neuroblastoma during childhood, with illicit drug consumption showing the strongest association (OR 3.26; 95% CI 1.36 to 7.86). However, adjusted estimates were highly heterogeneous.LimitationsAll studies were at high risk of bias.ConclusionsSmoking, alcohol or illicit drugs during pregnancy might play a role in the development of neuroblastoma. However, well-designed studies are needed to assess whether these exposures are causal and whether time period during pregnancy, dose or co-consumption of substances is critical.Trial registration numberRegistration number CRD42016036165.


Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1071
Author(s):  
Kasjan Paciuszkiewicz ◽  
Michelle Ryan ◽  
Ian A. Wright ◽  
Jason K. Reynolds

The detection and monitoring of illicit drug concentrations in environmental waters is of increasing interest. This study aimed to determine if illicit and regulated compounds, their potential pre-cursors, and metabolites varied in amount discharged into the environment from treated wastewater at different facilities. Water samples were taken from discharge points of four different tertiary wastewater treatment plants discharging directly into the Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Australia) on two different occasions and analysed to determine the concentrations of compounds including: ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, amphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, and benzoylecgonine. Here, we show that detectable levels of illicit drug and metabolites are being emitted on a consistent basis after having persisted through the wastewater treatment process. The concentrations of methamphetamine are in excess of previously reported surface water concentrations. The estimated total load of compounds being discharged on a daily basis is greater than similar sized catchment areas. The results presented here are of concern from both an ecological and human health perspective.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12591
Author(s):  
Maria Cristina Collivignarelli ◽  
Marco Carnevale Miino ◽  
Francesca Maria Caccamo ◽  
Chiara Milanese

Interest in the presence of microplastics (MPs) in wastewater has grown significantly in recent years. In fact, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent the last barrier before the discharge of MPs into an aquatic ecosystem. The research has highlighted how MPs are in part effectively removed from the waters and accumulated inside the sewage sludge (SeS) produced by the WWTP, being a cause for concern, especially in the case of agricultural reuse. This work aims to analyze the existing literature on the (i) methodical procedure for MPs analysis (thermal, spectroscopic, optical analyses), (ii) qualitative and quantitative presence of MPs in SeS, (iii) effect on sludge properties, and (iv) the possible accumulation in amended soils. Based on the results already obtained in the literature, this work aims to provide critical insights to stimulate interest in the topic and direct future research on aspects that should be deepened. In particular, it emerges that there is a clear need for standardization of the collection methods and the analytical techniques for identifying and quantifying MPs, since their physico-chemical characterization and the study on aging and on the response towards acid or basic pre-treatments are fundamental for the understanding of microplastics ecotoxicological potential.


2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-174
Author(s):  
Philip N. Murphy ◽  
Lisa D. Riley ◽  
Abbie R. Kempson ◽  
Michelle Wareing ◽  
Lindsay C. Jones

It has been argued that the apparent alienation of young Britons from involvement in conventional politics, as seen by their low turn out in the 2001 general election, may be partly due to the mismatch between their experience of, and attitudes towards, illicit drugs, and the traditional policies of the mainstream parties which have favoured their continued prohibition (e.g. Lilley, 2001). In the absence of direct evidence for such a relationship, other evidence from both the illicit drug use and political literatures respectively was examined from the viewpoint of the psychological mediation of behaviour in both areas. It was concluded that illicit drug use might not be regarded as normal behaviour by young people to the extent argued by some researchers, and that given the range of personal social meanings which users have been found to attach to this behaviour, great caution was needed when inferring social and political attitudes in this population. Important future research could include an examination of locus of control and self-efficacy beliefs, especially with those involved in active campaigning on drug related issues. Until such research is conducted, the hypothesised relationship between illicit drug use and political behaviour remains a matter of conjecture.


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