Tempe is one of the first cities to employ advanced wastewater analysis to help combat drug abuse — particularly opioid abuse. The project uses resources in the Environmental Health Engineering Lab directed by Fulton Schools Professor Rolf Halden. The lab can test wastewater samples to estimate the number people using drugs in a specific area, the quantities of drugs consumed and the potential number of overdose incidents. Halden’s lab team includes Postdoctoral Research Associate Adam Gushgari, a recent graduate of the Fulton Schools Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering doctoral program, and two current doctoral students in the program, Ana Barrios and Erin Driver. Gushgari explained the research to Channel 12 News. Barrios, Driver and Halden did the same for the other news reports listed below.

See also:

Buscan en drenajes solución al problema de opioides (They are looking in drains for a solution to the problem of opioids), TeleMundo Arizona, May 30

ASU scientists turn to wastewater to determine drug presence in the city, The State Press, May 31

Can sewage provide clues on how to combat opioid crisis? The Fix, June 5

ASU, Tempe study wastewater for opioid content, Easy Valley Tribune, June 7