Study finds traces of opioids in Tempe wastewater

Concentrations of four different types of opioids were found in wastewater tested in north Tempe.

The data was found by studying untreated sewage for drug compounds found in prescription opioid drugs such as fentanyl, oxycodone, and codeine, as well as illicit drugs like heroin.

The preliminary results, released Thursday, show that opioid misuse is on par with what researchers are seeing in other cities, said Stephanie Deitrick, Tempe’s GIS services and data program manager.

Deitrick, along with researchers from Arizona State University’s Biodesign Institute, have been studying opioid traces in the city’s wastewater since July.

“On a per 1,000-person basis, Tempe is no different than the rest of the country,” she said.

Researchers are at the midway point of a yearlong study and will continue to study wastewater in other parts of the city. Additional results are expected later this year.

The data will be used to shape early intervention and education efforts in the community, provide services, and measure progress toward the city’s goal to end opioid-related deaths and overdoses by 2025.

The city will host a town hall 10:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Tempe History Museum, where it will publicly share the results of the study and help connect attendees with health-care providers, addiction counselors and city

programs.

The Tempe City Council last year approved $35,000 for the yearlong pilot program, which runs through June, and ASU matched the funds.

ASU environmental engineer Rolf Halden, who spearheaded the study, said researchers take samples from sewage pipes beneath city streets, which he described as the “information highway,” and at wastewater treatment plants over a 24-hour period.

After a sample is taken, researchers measure the levels of two types of chemicals in the sample: parent drug compounds, the chemical structure of the original drug, and metabolite drug compounds, which is the chemical byproduct of a drug after it has been processed in the body.

Researchers can determine whether a drug has been flushed down a toilet or ingested.

Halden said the information is anonymous and can’t be tied to an individual, household or establishment. Anyone who uses a restroom in Tempe contributes to the sample.

The study is similar to blood, urine, and stool samples taken by doctors to help diagnose patients, he said.

“Sewage doesn’t lie,” he said. “The chemistry we measure is real. We can track the amount of things that come through our city on a given day.”

Wastewater samples have been collected in three regions that span north Tempe, and researchers are working to collect samples from the rest of the city. Areas served by septic tanks aren’t included in the data because they aren’t connected to the city’s wastewater system.

Of the drugs tested, researchers found the highest concentrations of the metabolic drug compounds found in codeine and oxycodone, according to the data.

Concentrations of fentanyl, an opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, were relatively low compared to other opioids, data shows.

On average, Area 4, which encompasses the region between 48th Street and Priest Drive from the Loop 202 to Broadway Road, showed the highest concentrations of the drugs tested for. Researchers found that there is an oncology treatment center and a facial and oral surgeon in that area, which likely contributed to the spike in use, said Deitrick, the city’s data program manager.

The presence of opioids in the wastewater doesn’t necessarily indicate the drugs are being misused, since some are legally prescribed for pain management, she said.

The information collected will be compared with GIS mapping data and emergency calls where suspected opioid use was involved, or where Naloxone, an opioid-overdose reversal drug, was given, Deitrick said.

Between January 2017 and June 2018, the Tempe Fire Department responded to 473 calls where opioid abuse was suspected. Of those, first responders administered Naloxone in 202 cases, according to city data.

This will help the city figure out where the highest opioid use is and direct resources there, she said.

The results will also be weighed against the Arizona Youth Survey, which asks people ages 18 and younger whether they’ve used tobacco, alcohol, prescription medication, or illicit drugs.

Interim Assistant Fire Chief Andrea Glass said the department will use the data to determine what type of prevention and education programs need to be implemented, whether that be education of proper disposal or early intervention programs in high schools.

More information about the study and about the city’s efforts to curb opioid abuse can be found on the city’s online substance abuse resource page.