OSU researchers improve wastewater drug test

December 2008

U.S. Water News Online

CORVALLIS, Ore. — Oregon State University researchers say they have improved a monitoring system for detecting drugs in wastewater.

The system announced last year can be useful for determining the extent of illegal drug use in entire communities by testing water at municipal wastewater treatment plants. It also measures the use of pharmaceutical drugs.

The technique may be an effective tool for comparing general patterns of drug use in different regions of the United States and the world.

The new test eliminates the need for sample preparation, saving time and money and decreasing the risk of contamination.

The results of the test are in the Dec. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society journal.