Application of a sewage-based approach to assess the use of ten illicit drugs in four Chinese megacities.
Sewage-based epidemiology was applied for the first time to a number of mainland Chinese megacities. The application monitored influents to 9 sewage treatment plants (STPs) to estimate the use of illicit drugs in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Shanghai. Altogether, 11.4 million inhabitants were covered during September-October 2012. 24-h composite raw sewage samples were collected for 4 consecutive days at each STP. Each collected sample was analyzed for cocaine, benzoylecgonine, ecgonine methylester, methadone, 2-ethylidene-1,5-dimethyl-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, mephedrone, methylenedioxypyrovalerone, 11-nor-9-carboxy-delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, ketamine, and norketamine. Through the analysis of these chemical residues, the use of amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, mephedrone, methadone, methamphetamine, methylenedioxypyrovalerone and ketamine among Chinese urban inhabitants was monitored. The results obtained demonstrated in a quantitative way that the drug use patterns of Chinese are different from their European counterparts. Abuse of methamphetamine and ketamine was particularly noteworthy in China, while consumption of cocaine and ecstasy, the most popular drugs in Europe, was very low among the sampled Chinese inhabitants. Further, the use of most drugs demonstrated a geographical trend, since their use was much higher in the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou than it was in Beijing and Shanghai. Interestingly, the exclusive, but minor, metabolite of heroin, 6-monoacetylmorphine, was detected only sporadically. This would suggest that the use of heroin among Chinese urban users sampled in the study was low. Further, the patterns of drug use observed during the study are largely consistent with trends reported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. Overall, our study suggests that sewage-based epidemiology can readily be used to monitor the use of illicit drugs in those countries/regions where traditional means to monitor drug use patterns have only yielded limited or information of questionable reliability.
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China; Department of Civil Engineering & Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada; AMEC Environment and Infrastructure, Montreal, Canada.
Usman
U
Khan
Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Alexander L N
AL
van Nuijs
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China; Department of Civil Engineering & Applied Mechanics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Jing
J
Li
Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.
Walid
W
Maho
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Peng
P
Du
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Kaiyang
K
Li
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China.
Linlin
L
Hou
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Jiying
J
Zhang
College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Xiangzhou
X
Meng
Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China. Electronic address: xli@urban.pku.edu.cn.
Xiqing
X
Li
Toxicological Centre, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. Electronic address: adrian.covaci@uantwerpen.be.
Adrian
A
Covaci
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000032:analysis*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
D013287:Illicit Drugs; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
China; Drugs of abuse; Ketamine; Methamphetamine; Sewage-based epidemiology; Wastewater