Stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers in a real rising main sewer

Jianfa Gao; Jiaying Li; Guangming Jiang; Zhiguo Yuan; Geoff Eaglesham; Adrian Covaci; Jochen F. Mueller; Phong K. Thai

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.036

Stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers in a real rising main sewer

Jianfa Gao
, Jiaying Li
, Guangming Jiang
, Zhiguo Yuan
, Geoff Eaglesham
, Adrian Covaci
, Jochen F. Mueller
, Phong K. Thai^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

76 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Since alcohol and tobacco consumption are among the leading causes of population health harm, it is very important to understand the consumption behaviour to develop effective harm reduction strategies. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a potential tool for estimating their consumption, but there are several uncertainties that need to be determined, including the stability of biomarkers in the sewer. Utilizing a real rising main sewer, this study investigated the stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers. Rhodamine and acesulfame were used as flow tracer and benchmarker to understand the transportation of wastewater in the sewer with a hydraulic retention time between 2.7 and 5.0 h. Ethyl sulphate (EtS) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), two biomarkers of alcohol consumption, were found to have different in-sewer stability, with EtS much more stable than EtG. The degradation rate of EtS is approximately 8% per hour, while EtG has a half-life of 1.9 h. Formation of nicotine, cotinine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, three biomarkers for tobacco consumption, was observed during the experiment, probably due to deconjugation of their glucuronide chemicals. The deconjugation process has prevented the determination of actual stability of the three chemicals. However, it is suggested that cotinine is relatively stable, while nicotine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine degrade to a certain degree in the sewer system. According to our findings, the in-sewer degradation is more important during the interpretation of alcohol consumption estimation than for tobacco consumption estimation. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	19-26
Journal	Water Research
Volume	138
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.036
Publication status	Published - 1 Jul 2018
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

Funding

The Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences, The University of Queensland gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Queensland Department of Health. Special thanks to support from Gold Coast Water for access to the site to conduct the study. Jianfa Gao receives an ARC scholarship (DP150100645). Jiaying Li is funded by China Scholarship Council. Phong K. Thai is funded by the QUT VC Fellowship. Dr Guangming Jiang is the recipient of an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (DE170100694). Thanks Dr Xiaoyan Sun and Miss Lisa Bethke for sampling assistance.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 6 Clean Water and Sanitation

Research Keywords

Alcohol and tobacco
Benchmarking
Biomarker stability
LC-MS/MS
Wastewater-based epidemiology

Policy Impact

Cited in Policy Documents

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10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.036

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@article{d91a63a45e144cda89a823d71153731a,

title = "Stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers in a real rising main sewer",

abstract = "Since alcohol and tobacco consumption are among the leading causes of population health harm, it is very important to understand the consumption behaviour to develop effective harm reduction strategies. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a potential tool for estimating their consumption, but there are several uncertainties that need to be determined, including the stability of biomarkers in the sewer. Utilizing a real rising main sewer, this study investigated the stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers. Rhodamine and acesulfame were used as flow tracer and benchmarker to understand the transportation of wastewater in the sewer with a hydraulic retention time between 2.7 and 5.0 h. Ethyl sulphate (EtS) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), two biomarkers of alcohol consumption, were found to have different in-sewer stability, with EtS much more stable than EtG. The degradation rate of EtS is approximately 8\% per hour, while EtG has a half-life of 1.9 h. Formation of nicotine, cotinine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, three biomarkers for tobacco consumption, was observed during the experiment, probably due to deconjugation of their glucuronide chemicals. The deconjugation process has prevented the determination of actual stability of the three chemicals. However, it is suggested that cotinine is relatively stable, while nicotine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine degrade to a certain degree in the sewer system. According to our findings, the in-sewer degradation is more important during the interpretation of alcohol consumption estimation than for tobacco consumption estimation. {\textcopyright} 2018 Elsevier Ltd",

keywords = "Alcohol and tobacco, Benchmarking, Biomarker stability, LC-MS/MS, Wastewater-based epidemiology",

author = "Jianfa Gao and Jiaying Li and Guangming Jiang and Zhiguo Yuan and Geoff Eaglesham and Adrian Covaci and Mueller, \{Jochen F.\} and Thai, \{Phong K.\}",

note = "Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].",

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doi = "10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.036",

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AU - Gao, Jianfa

AU - Li, Jiaying

AU - Jiang, Guangming

AU - Yuan, Zhiguo

AU - Eaglesham, Geoff

AU - Covaci, Adrian

AU - Mueller, Jochen F.

AU - Thai, Phong K.

N1 - Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

PY - 2018/7/1

Y1 - 2018/7/1

N2 - Since alcohol and tobacco consumption are among the leading causes of population health harm, it is very important to understand the consumption behaviour to develop effective harm reduction strategies. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a potential tool for estimating their consumption, but there are several uncertainties that need to be determined, including the stability of biomarkers in the sewer. Utilizing a real rising main sewer, this study investigated the stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers. Rhodamine and acesulfame were used as flow tracer and benchmarker to understand the transportation of wastewater in the sewer with a hydraulic retention time between 2.7 and 5.0 h. Ethyl sulphate (EtS) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), two biomarkers of alcohol consumption, were found to have different in-sewer stability, with EtS much more stable than EtG. The degradation rate of EtS is approximately 8% per hour, while EtG has a half-life of 1.9 h. Formation of nicotine, cotinine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, three biomarkers for tobacco consumption, was observed during the experiment, probably due to deconjugation of their glucuronide chemicals. The deconjugation process has prevented the determination of actual stability of the three chemicals. However, it is suggested that cotinine is relatively stable, while nicotine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine degrade to a certain degree in the sewer system. According to our findings, the in-sewer degradation is more important during the interpretation of alcohol consumption estimation than for tobacco consumption estimation. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

AB - Since alcohol and tobacco consumption are among the leading causes of population health harm, it is very important to understand the consumption behaviour to develop effective harm reduction strategies. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a potential tool for estimating their consumption, but there are several uncertainties that need to be determined, including the stability of biomarkers in the sewer. Utilizing a real rising main sewer, this study investigated the stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers. Rhodamine and acesulfame were used as flow tracer and benchmarker to understand the transportation of wastewater in the sewer with a hydraulic retention time between 2.7 and 5.0 h. Ethyl sulphate (EtS) and ethyl glucuronide (EtG), two biomarkers of alcohol consumption, were found to have different in-sewer stability, with EtS much more stable than EtG. The degradation rate of EtS is approximately 8% per hour, while EtG has a half-life of 1.9 h. Formation of nicotine, cotinine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine, three biomarkers for tobacco consumption, was observed during the experiment, probably due to deconjugation of their glucuronide chemicals. The deconjugation process has prevented the determination of actual stability of the three chemicals. However, it is suggested that cotinine is relatively stable, while nicotine and trans-3′-hydroxycotinine degrade to a certain degree in the sewer system. According to our findings, the in-sewer degradation is more important during the interpretation of alcohol consumption estimation than for tobacco consumption estimation. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd

KW - Alcohol and tobacco

KW - Benchmarking

KW - Biomarker stability

KW - LC-MS/MS

KW - Wastewater-based epidemiology

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DO - 10.1016/j.watres.2018.03.036

M3 - RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal

C2 - 29571085

SN - 0043-1354

VL - 138

SP - 19

EP - 26

JO - Water Research

JF - Water Research

ER -

Stability of alcohol and tobacco consumption biomarkers in a real rising main sewer

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Research Keywords

Policy Impact

Access Output

Other Access Options

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