Drugs of abuse in drinking water - a review of current detection methods, occurrence, elimination and health risks

This review focuses on the drugs of abuse in drinking water, as their presence is of increasing global concern and trace levels of these compounds have previously been detected. Even though these levels are not toxic with long term exposure via drinking water, they have the potential to bio accumulate and be in toxic to humans. In addition, transformation of these compounds during water treatment processes and their effect need further investigation as there are recent reports highlighting the increased toxicity to freshwater species. Currently there is limited information available on the detection of emerging drugs, therefore high resolution mass analyser could be a suitable alternative for non-target screening. Depending on the water treatment method used, the level of drugs of abuse detected can vary. Therefore, water regulatory bodies need to enforce more effective treatment methods for safe and sustainable drinking water.