Stimulatory Drugs of Abuse in Surface Waters and Their Removal in a Conventional Drinking Water Treatment Plant
Maria Huerta‐fontela, Maria Teresa Galceran, Francesc Ventura
Environmental Science & Technology August 6, 2008 DOI: 10.1021/es800768h (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Raw and finished drinking water from a Spanish drinking water treatment plant and its river basin |
| Interventions | prechlorination flocculation sand filtration ozone treatment postchlorination |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Keywords | Benzoylecgonine Caffeine Metabolite Methamphetamine Cotinine Nicotine Environmental chemistry Pharmacology Chromatography |
| Citations | 218 |
| Key findings | Cocaine, benzoylecgonine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA, and MDA were detected in raw surface waters, and treatment processes removed most compounds except caffeine, cotinine, and benzoylecgonine, which were reduced by 63–90%. |
Abstract
The presence of psychoactive stimulatory drugs in raw waters used for drinking water production and in finished drinking water was evaluated in a Spanish drinking water treatment plant (DWTP). Contamination of the river basin which provides raw water to this DWTP was also studied. In surface waters, illicit drugs such as cocaine, benzoylecgonine (cocaine metabolite), amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), and MDA were detected at mean concentrations ranging from 4 to 350 ng/L. Nicotine, caffeine, and their metabolites were also found at the microg/L level. The elimination of these compounds during drinking water treatment was investigated in a real waterworks. Amphetamine-type stimulants (except MDMA) were completely removed during prechlorination, flocculation, and sand filtration steps, yielding concentrations lowerthan their limits of detection (LODs). Further, ozone treatment was shown to be effective in partially eliminating caffeine (76%), while subsequent granulated activated carbon (GAC) filtration removed cocaine (100%), MDMA(88%), benzoylecgonine (72%), and cotinine (63%). Postchlorination achieved the complete elimination of cocaine and nicotine and only one parent compound (caffeine) and two metabolites (cotinine and benzoylecgonine) persisted throughout treatment although reductions of 90% for caffeine and benzoylecgonine and 74% for cotinine were obtained.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on MDMA, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjective Reports of the Effects of MDMA in a Clinical Setting Individuals who took MDMA in a clinical setting | 1986 | Observational study | |
| Memory impairment in abstinent MDMA ("Ecstasy") users Abstinent MDMA users | 1998 | Observational cohort | |
| Impaired cognitive performance in drug free users of recreational ecstasy (MDMA) Otherwise healthy young people | 2000 | Observational | |
| The Psychological and Physiological Effects of MDMA on Normal Volunteers Older, more educated, drug-experienced individuals | 1986 | Observational cohort | |
| Cognitive performance in recreational users of MDMA or 'ecstasy': evidence for memory deficits Young people who were regular or novice MDMA users, or non-users | 1998 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |