TITLE:
Presence of Illicit Drugs in the Sarno River (Campania Region, Italy)
AUTHORS:
Massimo Maddaloni, Sara Castiglioni, Ettore Zuccato, Flaminia Gay, Anna Capaldo, Vincenza Laforgia, Salvatore Valiante, Maria De Falco, Marco Guida
KEYWORDS:
Campania Region, Cocaine Pollution, Environmental Illicit Drugs, Sarno River Pollution, Surface Water Pollution
JOURNAL NAME:
Pharmacology & Pharmacy,
Vol.5 No.7,
June
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: The presence of illicit drugs and their metabolites in surface waters has to be
considered a new type of hazard, still unknown, for both the human health and
the aquatic ecosystem, due to the potent
pharmacological activities of all the illicit drugs. Our research was aimed at
evaluating the presence of illicit drugs in the Sarno River (Campania region,
Italy), crossing a densely populated area, the basin of the Sarno River, one of
the largest and most important economic areas in Campania region, famous for
the presence of zones with high landscape-environmental value. The drugs
selected for this study were the most used in Campania region. The presence of
illicit drugs in surface water was analyzed by a selective multi-residue assay
based on liquid chromatographytandem mass spectrometry. The analysis showed
the presence of all the illicit drugs investigated: cocaine and its main
metabolites (benzoylecgonine, nor-benzoylecgonine), morphine, THC-COOH and
codeine; cocaine was the most abundant illicit drug. The presence of illicit
drugs and their metabolites in the Sarno River suggests new potential risk for
the basin’s inhabitants, using water in the food chain, via field irrigation
and animal feed, and for the health of the
aquatic fauna.