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Illicit Drugs: Contaminants in the Environment and Utility in Forensic Epidemiology
Citation:
DAUGHTON, C. G. Illicit Drugs: Contaminants in the Environment and Utility in Forensic Epidemiology. REVIEWS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY. Springer, New York, NY, 210:59-110, (2011).
Impact/Purpose:
The spectrum of chemicals recognized as contributing to widespread contamination of the environment began to be extended to pharmaceutical ingredients as early as the 1970s. The topic, however, did not begin to attract broader scientific attention until the mid-1990s (Daughton 2009a). Occurring generally at levels below 1 microgram per liter (1 part per billion) in ambient waters, recognition of the near ubiquitous presence of pharmaceuticals in a wide variety of environmental compartments serves as a stunning measure of advancements in analytical chemistry and of our still-emerging understanding of the scope and complexity of xenobiotic occurrence in the environment.
Description:
The published literature surrounding the origin, occurrence, fate, and effects of illicit drug ingredients (IDIs) in the environment is examined. Similarities exist with medical pharmaceuticals, particularly with regard to the basic processes by which these ingredients enter the environment - excretion of unmetabolized residues (including via sweat), disposal, and manufacturing; legitimate pharmaceuticals diverted from the legal market or used for nonmedicinal purposes are also captured in discussions of illicit drugs. In contrast to medical pharmaceuticals, comparatively little is known regarding the fate and effects of IDIs in the environment. Environmental surveys for IDIs have revealed their presence in sewage wastewaters, sewage sludge and biosolids, and drinking water. Nearly nothing is known, however, regarding wildlife exposure to IDIs, especially aquatic exposure such as indicated by bioconcentration. In contrast with pharmaceuticals, chemical monitoring surveys have revealed the presence of certain IDIs in air and monetary currencies - the latter being of interest for the forensic tracking of money used in drug trafficking. Another unknown with regard to IDIs is the accuracy of current knowledge regarding the complete scope of chemical identities of the numerous types of IDIs in actual use (particularly some of the designer drugs new to forensic chemistry) as well as the total quantities being trafficked, consumed, or disposed. The major aspect unique to the study of IDIs in the environment is making use of their presence in the environment to obtain better estimates of the collective usage of illicit drugs across entire communities. Under investigation only since 2005, this new approach for estimating drug usage by monitoring the concentrations of IDIs (or certain unique metabolites) in untreated sewage has potential as an additional source of data to augment or corroborate the information-collection ability of written and oral surveys of drug-user populations. This still-evolving monitoring tool has been called "sewer epidemiology" but is referred to in this overview by the more descriptive term "FEUDS" (Forensic Epidemiology Using Drugs in Sewage).