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  4. Population Normalization with Ammonium in Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: Application to Illicit Drug Monitoring
 
research article

Population Normalization with Ammonium in Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: Application to Illicit Drug Monitoring

Been, Frederic
•
Rossi, Luca  
•
Ort, Christoph
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2014
Environmental Science & Technology

Fluctuations in ammonium (NH4+), measured as NH4-N loads using an ion-selective electrode installed at the inlet of a sewage treatment plant, showed a distinctive pattern which was associated to weekly (i.e., commuters) and seasonal (i.e., holidays) fluctuations of the population. Moreover, population size estimates based on NH4-N loads were lower compared to census data. Diurnal profiles of benzoylecgonine (BE) and 11-nor-9-carboxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC–COOH) were shown to be strongly correlated to NH4–N. Characteristic patterns, which reflect the prolonged nocturnal activity of people during the weekend, could be observed for BE, cocaine, and a major metabolite of MDMA (i.e., 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymethamphetamine). Additional 24 h composite samples were collected between February and September 2013. Per-capita loads (i.e., grams per day per 1000 inhabitants) were computed using census data and NH4–N measurements. Normalization with NH4-N did not modify the overall pattern, suggesting that the magnitude of fluctuations in the size of the population is negligible compared to those of illicit drug loads. Results show that fluctuations in the size of the population over longer periods of time or during major events can be monitored using NH4-N loads: either using raw NH4-N loads or population size estimates based on NH4-N loads, if information about site-specific NH4-N population equivalents is available.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1021/es5008388
Web of Science ID

WOS:000339227500060

Author(s)
Been, Frederic
Rossi, Luca  
Ort, Christoph
Rudaz, Serge
Delémont, Olivier
Esseiva, Pierre
Date Issued

2014

Publisher

Amer Chemical Soc

Published in
Environmental Science & Technology
Volume

48

Issue

14

Start page

8162

End page

8169

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

OTHER

EPFL units
ECOL  
Available on Infoscience
August 4, 2014
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/105403
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