Wastewater analysis as a global toxicovigilance tool for the monitoring of new psychoactive substances
New psychoactive substances are a group of synthetic or naturally occurring drugs that mimic the effects of controlled illicit drugs. With limited information around potency, effects and health risks, there is international concern around their use and thus surveillance efforts are needed for public health. This study presents a global assessment of new psychoactive substances in influent wastewater from 52 sites across 20 countries during the 2022/2023 New Year period. Using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, 21 new psychoactive substances were detected with mitragynine, 3-methylmethcathinone, and eutylone being the most prevalent. Notably, 3,4-methylenedioxy-PV8 was identified for the first time in sites in Australia and the United States. A retrospective analysis of population normalised mass loads for 3-methylmethcathinone at European sites revealed downward trends in 2022/2023 sampling period compared to the previous years, suggesting a possible impact of regional scheduling measures. Additionally, this work demonstrates the stability of new psychoactive substances in loaded cartridges for up to four months when stored at -20 °C. These findings highlight the value of wastewater-based epidemiology for global monitoring of emerging new psychoactive substances threats and policy evaluation.
Authors
- Fernando F. Sodré (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7697-8492)
- Noelia Salgueiro‐González (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4079-658X)
- Richard Bade (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2724-9183)
- Erin M. Driver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9675-9764)
- Andrew Chappell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4784-7893)
- Viviane Yargeau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7332-276X)
- Natan Van Wichelen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8852-8568)
- Elisa Gracia-Marín (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6767-390X)
- Despo Fatta‐Kassinos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1173-0941)
- Arndís Sue Ching Löve (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1563-7525)
- Rolf U. Halden (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5232-7361)
- Věra Očenášková (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8692-2417)
- Christine Baduel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0460-9505)
- Temilola Oluseyi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5722-3403)
- Emma Gracia‐Lor (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7256-652X)
- Fábio Dupart Nascimento (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6672-3373)
- Νikolaos S. Τhomaidis (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4624-4735)
- Jeong‐Eun Oh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9530-1524)
- Degao Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0841-2793)
- Maria Laimou‐Geraniou
- Bikram Subedi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7832-2585)
- Ester Heath (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8754-6978)
- Julia Huchthausen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4916-1174)
- Sarah L. Cresswell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1988-0701)
- Kaitlyn Phung
- Magda Psichoudaki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0197-7302)
- Nicola Ceolotto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2106-9739)
- Daniel A. Burgard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2727-9307)
- Tim Boogaerts
- Lubertus Bijlsma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7005-8775)
- Cobus Gerber (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9070-843X)
- Sara Castiglioni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7313-8495)
- Foon Yin Lai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8996-6714)
- Jochen F. Mueller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0000-1973)
- Dhayaalini Nadarajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3572-3121)
- Emma L Keller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3368-6937)
- João Pedro Matias (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4898-6230)
- Harold Flores Quintana
- Marco Pineda-Castro
- Cezar Silvino-Gomes
Institutions
- Griffith University (AU)
- Universidad Complutense de Madrid (ES)
- Louisiana State University (US)
- European Union (BE)
- Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (DE)
- University of Puget Sound (US)
- University of Antwerp (BE)
- Universidade de Brasília (BR)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Iceland (IS)
- University of South Australia (AU)
- Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research (IT)
- University of Lagos (NG)
- National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (GR)
- Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SE)
- University of Cyprus (CY)
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School (SI)
- New Zealand Institute for Public Health and Forensic Science (NZ)
- T. G. Masaryk Water Research Institute (CZ)
- Dalian Maritime University (CN)
- Pusan National University (KR)
- McGill University (CA)
- University of Bath (GB)
- Arizona State University (US)
- Federal Police of Brazil (BR)
- Université Grenoble Alpes (FR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Water Research
- Published
- 2025-10-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2025.124847
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Chemical Sensor Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00