title: Methamphetamine and ketamine use in major Chinese cities, a nationwide reconnaissance through sewage-based epidemiology.
abstract: Sewage-based epidemiology was applied to examine geographic variations in methamphetamine (METH) and ketamine (KET) use in China. Influent and effluent wastewater samples were collected from 36 sewage treatment plants (STPs) in 18 major cities that cover all the geographic regions of the country. Mean METH loads of the cities ranged from 12.5 ± 14.9 to 181.2 ± 6.5 mg/1000 inh/d, whereas mean KET loads ranged from <0.2 to 89.6 ± 27.4 mg/1000 inh/d. No clear geographical pattern was observed in METH use, although slightly lower use in north and east China relative to other regions can be suggested. In contrast, an overall increasing trend from the north to the south was evident for KET loads. Apparent METH removal was greater than 80% at most STPs, whereas KET removal was less than 50% at most STPs and was even negative (i.e., measured effluent concentrations were greater than influent concentrations) at a significant number of STPs. Results in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen indicate that METH use in China may have increased substantially since 2012, whereas KET use did not significantly change, if not decreased. Comparison between seizures and estimated consumptions reveals that seizures in most Chinese provinces are far less than consumptions. In several provinces (e.g., Guangdong and Yunan), however, seizures were found to exceed consumptions, indicating that a significant fraction of METH and KET seized in these provinces is destined for consumption in other places.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kaiyang
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Zeqiong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiaofang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Beijing Urban Drainage Monitoring Center Co. Ltd., 100012 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Urban Drainage Monitoring Center Co. Ltd., 100012 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Huafang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, 100871 Beijing, China. Electronic address: xli@urban.pku.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiqing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007649:Ketamine / Q000032:analysis*; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000032:analysis*; D012640:Seizures / Q000453:epidemiology; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D008694:Methamphetamine; D007649:Ketamine
keywords: China; Ketamine; Methamphetamine; Sewage-based epidemiology; Use