Traces of cocaine found in Ontario waters. Here's where
Grand River - Mandy Sparling
Digital Reporter
Thursday, July 23, 2015, 12:10 PM - Traces of prescription and illicit drugs - including cocaine and morphine - have been discovered in Ontario wastewater, according to a new study conducted by researchers at McGill and Trent Universities.
The study published in the Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry journal, examined the concentrations of 17 different drugs at a municipal wastewater plant along the Grand River in southern Ontario. Multiple sites upstream and downstream of the plant were monitored, as well as a drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) located about 20 km downstream of the wastewater plant that pulls raw water from the river.
The drugs reach the water via human excretion, according to Viviane Yargeau, lead author of the study. Cocaine was the most common illegal substance found.
While the Grand River only runs through the Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge area, Yargeau told Metro News she is confident similar drugs could be found in rivers across the province, including the Don or the Humber.
“The results would be the same,” she told Metro News. “Wherever we’ve tested for it, we’ve detected it.”
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Results showed a decrease in the concentration of the drugs with distance downstream from the wastewater discharge into the river, yet, there was little dilution of drugs such as cocaine, morphine and oxycodone.
Researchers hypothesize that the drug compounds could potentially impact the quality of drinking water, but there is no evidence to suggest trace amounts pose a health risk.
“It’s very little amounts,” Yargeau told Metro News. “But as we’re increasing our population and increasing the use of these drugs, we’re increasing the amount and the cocktail that we discharge.”
It is difficult to understand how these drugs impact the environment, Yargeau notes.
“We don’t have much information about the toxicity or effect of these illicit drugs on fish, for example,” she told Metro News. “There’s a possibility that the fish could be affected. Their behaviour could be different and their survival rates could be affected.”
Yeargau believes current water treatment methods need to be improved.
“The technologies do exist, the issue is investing money to build additional treatment centres and hire the staff to operate them.”
Source: Metro News | Study
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