Alex J Brewer1,2, Caleb J Banta-Green3, Christoph Ort4,5, Alix E Robel1, Jennifer Field1. 1. Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, USA. 2. Department of Chemistry, University of Kansas, Lawrence, USA. 3. Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. 4. Urban Water Management, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, Dübendorf, Switzerland. 5. Advanced Water Management Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Illicit drug use is known to occur among inmate populations of correctional (prison) facilities. Conventional approaches to monitor illicit drug use in prisons include random urinalyses (RUA). Conventional approaches are expected to be prone to bias because prisoners may be aware of which days of the week RUAs are conducted. Therefore, we wanted to compare wastewater loads for methamphetamine and cocaine during days with RUA testing and without. DESIGN AND METHODS: We collected daily 24-h composite samples of wastewater by continuous sampling, computed daily loads for 1 month and compared the frequency of illicit drug detection to the number of positive RUAs. Diurnal data also were collected for 3 days to determine within-day patterns of illicit drugs excretion. RESULTS: Methamphetamine was observed in each sample of prison wastewater with no significant difference in daily mass loads between RUA testing and non-testing days. Cocaine and its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, were observed only at levels below quantification in prison wastewater. Six RUAs were positive for methamphetamine during the month while none were positive for cocaine out of the 243 RUAs conducted. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Wastewater analyses offer data regarding the frequency of illicit drug excretion inside the prison that RUAs alone could not detect.
INTRODUCTION AND AIMS: Illicit drug use is known to occur among inmate populations of correctional (prison) facilities. Conventional approaches to monitor illicit drug use in prisons include random urinalyses (RUA). Conventional approaches are expected to be prone to bias because prisoners may be aware of which days of the week RUAs are conducted. Therefore, we wanted to compare wastewater loads for methamphetamine and cocaine during days with RUA testing and without. DESIGN AND METHODS: We collected daily 24-h composite samples of wastewater by continuous sampling, computed daily loads for 1 month and compared the frequency of illicit drug detection to the number of positive RUAs. Diurnal data also were collected for 3 days to determine within-day patterns of illicit drugs excretion. RESULTS:Methamphetamine was observed in each sample of prison wastewater with no significant difference in daily mass loads between RUA testing and non-testing days. Cocaine and its major metabolite, benzoylecgonine, were observed only at levels below quantification in prison wastewater. Six RUAs were positive for methamphetamine during the month while none were positive for cocaine out of the 243 RUAs conducted. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: Wastewater analyses offer data regarding the frequency of illicit drug excretion inside the prison that RUAs alone could not detect.
Authors: Wayne Hall; Jeremy Prichard; Paul Kirkbride; Raimondo Bruno; Phong K Thai; Coral Gartner; Foon Yin Lai; Christoph Ort; Jochen F Mueller Journal: Addiction Date: 2012-05-08 Impact factor: 6.526
Authors: Foon Yin Lai; Christoph Ort; Coral Gartner; Steve Carter; Jeremy Prichard; Paul Kirkbride; Raimondo Bruno; Wayne Hall; Geoff Eaglesham; Jochen F Mueller Journal: Water Res Date: 2011-06-15 Impact factor: 11.236
Authors: Sara Castiglioni; Lubertus Bijlsma; Adrian Covaci; Erik Emke; Félix Hernández; Malcolm Reid; Christoph Ort; Kevin V Thomas; Alexander L N van Nuijs; Pim de Voogt; Ettore Zuccato Journal: Environ Sci Technol Date: 2013-01-11 Impact factor: 9.028