Wastewater-Based Epidemiology of Cocaine in the Brazilian Federal District: Spatial Distribution, Weekly Variation and Sample Preservation Strategies

Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society

Jardim, Wilson F.¹  Feitosa, Rafael S.²  Sodré, Fernando F.³ 

[1] Instituto Nacional de Criminalística, Brasília, Brazil;Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas, Brazil;Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil

关键词: illicit drugs;    cocaine use;    WBE;    sample preservation;    consumption estimates.;   

DOI  :  10.21577/0103-5053.20180105

学科分类：化学（综合）

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

The distribution of consumed cocaine in the Brazilian Federal District (FD) was estimated using the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach. Sewage samples from eight wastewater treatment plants were analyzed for cocaine (COC) and benzoylecgonine (BE) using solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The highest per capita consumption was noticed for the northern area of the Brazilian Capital (1162 mg day-1 1000 inh-1) being 32% higher than the average consumption rate of the investigated region. In this area, a day-to-day investigation revealed an average cocaine consumption of 1800 mg day-1 1000 inh-1 during the weekend, i.e., more than 50% higher than weekdays. An annual street-grade cocaine load of about 2 ton was estimated for the FD considering previous information on the actual purity of seized street drugs as well as consumers between 15 and 64 years old. Sample preservation strategies were also investigated in order to expand the WBE approach to other Brazilian areas. Sample acidification to pH 2.0 presented the smallest relative errors for COC (+11%) and BE (−4%) after a period of three days under typical transport conditions practiced by the Brazilian national postal service.

【 授权许可】

CC BY