Irish wastewater tested for narcotics

Technology deployed during the pandemic to test for Covid-19 in Ireland’s wastewater is now being used to detect and analyse illegal drug use in Dublin at the request of the Health Service Executive (HSE).

Scientists at University College Dublin (UCD) began testing wastewater for illegal narcotics last year to determine the extent of their use in the population and to detect the presence of new designer drugs.

The first results were published earlier this year in a study comparing crack cocaine use in 13 European Union cities. The wastewater analysis showed the prevalence of crack use in Dublin is broadly in line with most other cities examined but significantly less than Amsterdam and Antwerp.

UCD first started testing wastewater for the prevalence of Covid in June 2020 at the request of the HSE. “Then they contacted me and asked, ‘Can you also look for drugs?’,” said professor of microbiology at UCD, Wim Meijer.