Spatial and temporal variations in the occurrence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in waste- and surface water from Belgium and removal during wastewater treatment Universiteit Antwerpen
Estimates of cocaine consumption are currently resulting from population surveys, consumer interviews and crime statistics. A new approach (sewage epidemiology) based on the analysis of cocaine (COC) and its metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BE), in water samples was applied to 10 river sites and 30 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Belgium. Each river site was sampled twice, during the summer of 2007 and the winter of 20072008, while each WWTP ...