Comparing illicit drug use in 19 European cities through sewage analysis Thomas, K.V.; Bijlsma, L.; Castiglioni, S.; Covaci, A.; Emke, E.; Grabic, R.; Hernández, F.; Karolak, S.; Kasprzyk-Hordern, B.; Lindberg, R.H.; Meierjohann, A.; Ort, C.; Pico, Y.; Quintana, J.; Reid, M.; Rieckermann, J.; Terzic, S.; van Nuijs, A.L.N.; de Voogt, W.P. Published in:Science of the Total Environment DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.06.069 Link to publicationCitation for published version (APA): Thomas, K. V., Bijlsma, L., Castiglioni, S., Covaci, A., Emke, E., Grabic, R., ... de Voogt, P. (2012) General rightsIt is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), other than for strictly personal, individual use, unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons). Disclaimer/Complaints regulationsIf you believe that digital publication of certain material infringes any of your rights or (privacy) interests, please let the Library know, stating your reasons. In case of a legitimate complaint, the Library will make the material inaccessible and/or remove it from the website. Please Ask the Library: https://uba.uva.nl/en/contact, or a letter to: Library of the University of Amsterdam, Secretariat, Singel 425, 1012 WP Amsterdam, The Netherlands. You will be contacted as soon as possible. The analysis of sewage for urinary biomarkers of illicit drugs is a promising and complementary approach for estimating the use of these substances in the general population. For the first time, this approach was simultaneously applied in 19 European cities, making it possible to directly compare illicit drug loads in Europe over a 1-week period. An inter-laboratory comparison study was performed to evaluate the analytical performance of the participating laboratories. Raw 24-hour composite sewage samples were collected from 19 European cities during a single week in March 2011 and analyzed for the urinary biomarkers of cocaine, amphetamine, ecstasy, methamphetamine and cannabis using in-house optimized and validated analytical methods. The load of each substance used in each city was back-calculated from the measured concentrations. The data show distinct temporal and spatial patterns in drug use across Europe. Cocaine use was higher in Western and Central Europe and lower in Northern and Eastern Europe. The extrapolated total daily use of cocaine in Europe during the study period was equivalent to 356 kg/day. High per capita ecstasy loads were observed in Dutch cities, as well as in Antwerp and London. In general, cocaine and ecstasy loads were significantly elevated during the weekend compared to weekdays. Per-capita loads of methamphetamine were highest in Helsinki and Turku, Oslo and Budweis, while the per capita loads of cannabis were similar throughout Europe. This study shows that a standardized analysis for illicit drug urinary biomarkers in sewage can be applied to estimate and compare the use of these substances at local and intern...
The analysis of 87 peer-reviewed journal articles reveals that sampling for pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) and illicit drugs in sewers and sewage treatment plant influents is mostly carried out according to existing tradition or standard laboratory protocols. Less than 5% of all studies explicitly consider internationally acknowledged guidelines or methods for the experimental design of monitoring campaigns. In the absence of a proper analysis of the system under investigation, the importance of short-term pollutant variations was typically not addressed. Therefore, due to relatively long sampling intervals, potentially inadequate sampling modes, or insufficient documentation, it remains unclear for the majority of reviewed studies whether observed variations can be attributed to "real" variations or if they simply reflect sampling artifacts. Based on results from previous and current work, the present paper demonstrates that sampling errors can lead to overinterpretation of measured data and ultimately, wrong conclusions. Depending on catchment size, sewer type, sampling setup, substance of interest, and accuracy of analytical method, avoidable sampling artifacts can range from "not significant" to "100% or more" for different compounds even within the same study. However, in most situations sampling errors can be reduced greatly, and sampling biases can be eliminated completely, by choosing an appropriate sampling mode and frequency. This is crucial, because proper sampling will help to maximize the value of measured data for the experimental assessment of the fate of PPCPs as well as for the formulation and validation of mathematical models. The trend from reporting presence or absence of a compound in "clean" water samples toward the quantification of PPCPs in raw wastewater requires not only sophisticated analytical methods but also adapted sampling methods. With increasing accuracy of chemical analyses, inappropriate sampling increasingly represents the major source of inaccuracy. A condensed step-by-step Sampling Guide is proposed as a starting point for future studies.
Data are essential in all areas of geophysics. They are used to better understand and manage systems, either directly or via models. Given the complexity and spatiotemporal variability of geophysical systems (e.g., precipitation), a lack of sufficient data is a perennial problem, which is exacerbated by various drivers, such as climate change and urbanization. In recent years, crowdsourcing has become increasingly prominent as a means of supplementing data obtained from more traditional sources, particularly due to its relatively low implementation cost and ability to increase the spatial and/or temporal resolution of data significantly. Given the proliferation of different crowdsourcing methods in geophysics and the promise they have shown, it is timely to assess the state of the art in this field, to identify potential issues and map out a way forward. In this paper, crowdsourcing‐based data acquisition methods that have been used in seven domains of geophysics, including weather, precipitation, air pollution, geography, ecology, surface water, and natural hazard management, are discussed based on a review of 162 papers. In addition, a novel framework for categorizing these methods is introduced and applied to the methods used in the seven domains of geophysics considered in this review. This paper also features a review of 93 papers dealing with issues that are common to data acquisition methods in different domains of geophysics, including the management of crowdsourcing projects, data quality, data processing, and data privacy. In each of these areas, the current status is discussed and challenges and future directions are outlined.
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