Illicit Drugs in the Environment explores the effectiveness and promising potential of mass spectrometry as a powerful analytical tool for accurately measuring the residues and metabolites of illicit drugs—an emerging class of environmental contaminant—in wastewater and surface water. An essential reference for inciting further scientific investigation, this book meticulously outlines not only the technological road map of mass spectrometry, but also the significance of its dual duties as both a detection device for studying novel toxins infiltrating fragile aquatic ecosystems and a tracking beacon for estimating community-wide drug consumption through its ability to test sewage networks. Illicit Drugs in the Environment also:

• Provides analytical techniques developed to detect illicit drugs in wastewater and surface water, with detailed description of the liquid chromatography, mass spectrometry, and tandem mass spectrometry methods

• Explores why this new class of contaminants have become a problem for the environment because of their ubiquitous presence in wastewater and surface water

• Details how to estimate the levels of contaminants in the environment and discusses their behavior, fate, and their potential toxic effects

Illicit Drugs in the Environment takes a crucial first step toward validating findings as part of the ongoing effort to reduce pharmaceutical hazards preying on the environment and endangering the health of society at large. Practitioners in a wide range of fields, from analytical chemists to forensic researchers, epidemiological researchers, and ecotoxicologists, will benefit greatly from applying the principles discussed in this important work.