title: A snapshot of illicit drug use in Sweden acquired through sewage water analysis.
abstract: Analytical measurements of sewage water have been used many times to estimate the consumption of specific drugs in an area. This study measured a large number of illicit drugs and metabolites (>30) at a large number of sewage treatment plants (STPs) distributed across Sweden. Twenty-four illicit and prescription drugs, classified as narcotic substances in Sweden, and seven selected metabolites were included in the study. A 24 hour composite sample of incoming sewage water was collected from 33 different municipalities at various geographic locations across Sweden. Species were analyzed using an on-line solid-phase extraction-liquid chromatography electrospray tandem mass spectrometry method. The method proved to be rapid with minimum need for sample work up and was able to detect 13 compounds above their respective limits of quantification. The results for all compounds were presented as per capita loads. Multivariate data analysis was used to relate drug consumption to geographical location and/or population of cities. The results showed that geographical differences in drug consumption were apparent across the country. For the narcotic pharmaceuticals, the geographical differences suggested by the multivariate model were supported by prescription statistics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden. Electronic address: marcus.ostman@chem.umu.se.
authors.forename: Marcus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ostman
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Jerker
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fick
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Elin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Näsström
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Umeå University, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Lindberg
mesh_terms: D002947:Cities; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Analysis; Illicit drugs; LC–MS/MS; Multivariate data analysis; Sweden; Wastewater