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Dec 12, 2008 07:41 PM | 21
Is your neighborhood using? Researchers from Oregon State University and the University of Washington have devised technology that analyzes what’s been flushed down the toilet to measure how many speed freaks and coke heads you’ve got living down the street.
A report published in the Dec. 15 edition of the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology describes a new test that uses standard chemical analytical methods to look at what stuff makes its way through the municipal sewer systems to wastewater treatment plants. There, the test can measure levels of drugs including illegal substances like crystal methamphetamine. Unlike previous methods, the technique does not require expensive and time-consuming sample preparation, making it a practical for comparing drug use in different regions.
The communal drug test was developed by looking at effluent from seven communities, identified in the report only by region (south, west, northeast and midwest). Maybe it is a good idea to take steps like reworking the formulation for Sudafed, which has been used as a raw material for making crystal meth. Overall, the study found the highest meth concentrations ever measured anywhere, based on samplings at four plants located in the south and west of the U.S. But, phew, coke in sewage was only comparable to European levels. Privacy from telemarketers is ensured by “no call” lists. Alas, a “no flush” list for your neighborhood is probably a non-starter.
Tags:
wastewater,
drugs,
publich health,
environment
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21 Comments
Add CommentYou might want to change your writing style to reflect a scientific approach, instead of the crap you wrote in the above article. If, you want to retain an intelligent following, you need to write about facts, and nothing but the facts, folks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisi
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon't be telling them there's leftover crystal meth in their urine or they'll be shooting it up.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbikes: how about some evidence/facts/references to support your conclusion that the article is crap?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow can this technology possibly determine how many "speed freaks" are in a given area. Does it differentiate between drugs processed by the human body, how many human bodies are living in each house, how many houses are in that given area, how much those individuals are using per volume, and whether or not "pure" drugs (prior to processing through the body) are flushed into the system. How can it account for so many variables as to answer how many "speed freaks" occupy an area? Or do you also knock on doors, asking "How many drug users occupy your home and what amounts are all the users capable of using. And by the way, have you flushed any additional volumes of drugs down the drain?"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYa, and using the word "crap" is real intelligent too...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"scientific" american - please seek the services of a scientist, and an editor, before publishing. Yes, real analytical chemistry is behind this study, but the math resulting in estimates of drug quantities and users is fuzzy at best. As a graduate student and researcher I fully support increased public funding for basic and applied research, but studies such as this accomplish nothing towards improving public health or safety. Furthermore, Gary Stix's mindless commentary masks the real issues, such as why these tax dollars weren't spent on improving our lives and those of successive generations.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"scientific" american - please seek the services of a scientist, and an editor, before publishing. Yes, real analytical chemistry is behind this study, but the math resulting in estimates of drug quantities and users is fuzzy at best. As a graduate student and researcher I fully support increased public funding for basic and applied research, but studies such as this accomplish nothing towards improving public health or safety. Furthermore, Gary Stix's mindless commentary masks the real issues, such as why these tax dollars weren't spent on improving our lives and those of successive generations.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe article suggests that one can locate the geographic area that has the greatest useage based on the concentrations in the sewage. That is a logical supposition, well founded in science. Using vulgarities to describe the article lets me make logical suppositions about the writer, also well founded in my previous experiences. Free speech is wonderful! Keep talking.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDoes the "evidence" tell you how many people were using cold medications w/ C10H15O2. As a retired "cook", and recovering addict I find these studies offensive and, yes, crap. Just another attempt to attack the victim rather than perpetrator, masked as scientific advance. Stop wasting receding resources on b/s.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat... Now my neighbors are going to be pissing in their back yards for fear of being snitched on by their toilets.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't think there is anything wrong with this article..but thats just my opinion, it is interesting either way. You may never know who is using drugs in your neighborhood. And, would you want to live next to a bunch of junkies that may potentially cause a problem in your neighborhood? I sure don't. Been there, done that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat in the... did a high school kid write this?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLOL! Don't listen to them bud. This is the kind of stuff men won't touch with a ten-foot pole. I bet most of them blushed when they read it and the ones who really had a fit are users themselves. Nervousness, sheer nervousness. Interesting thought and article. ThXs!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEvolution of a Developed Infrastructure... (If you do not "get" what that means, do not worry, very, very few will)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI like the idea. While the deployment of the technology at its current state will not tell the law enforcement where illegal drug labs are can see it being used as a tool to isolate the location of them. The idea of living in a community with low drug usage is very appealing to me, as I would imagine anyone hard working, and trying to raise children in a healthy environment.
There's a simplier way. The city sends out "Trash Inspectors", who when asked, say " I'm inspecting the trash for recycleables." They actually open up and go into trash-bags and trash cans. Yes, if we have recycleables in the regular trash, we can get a ticket. They can get an actual census of illicit/illegal activity down to the very door.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBig brother is every where.....
Useful information on this, that I am interested in knowing, would be the environmental impact that dumping the post-cooking hazmats has created for us. Where can I read useful knowledge about that, instead of assumptions created by digging through our wastes?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUseful information on this, that I am interested in knowing, would be the environmental impact that dumping the post-cooking hazmats has created for us. Where can I read useful knowledge about that, instead of assumptions created by digging through our wastes?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUseful information on this, that I am interested in knowing, would be the environmental impact that dumping the post-cooking hazmats has created for us. Where can I read useful knowledge about that, instead of assumptions created by digging through our wastes?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUseful information on this, that I am interested in knowing, would be the environmental impact that dumping the post-cooking hazmats has created for us. Where can I read useful knowledge about that, instead of assumptions created by digging through our wastes?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUseful information would be, the environmental impact that hazmat dumping from the post-cooking of meth, has created for us. Where can I read about that?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this