Oregon State University researchers say they have improved a monitoring system for detecting drugs in wastewater, the Associated Press reported.
The testing system, announced last year, saves time and money and decreases the risk of contamination by eliminating the need for sample preparation.
The system, which also measures use of pharmaceutical drugs, can be useful for determining the extent of illegal drug use in entire communities by testing water at municipal treatment plants.
The technique may be used for comparing general patterns of drug use in different regions of the U.S. and world.
The results of the test are in the Dec. 15 issue of the American Chemical Society journal.
Source: Associated Press
