Analysis of ethyl sulfate in wastewater to assess alcohol consumption in the Spanish population

Identifier:  TFM:817

Handle: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11797/TFM817

Authors:  Alcalá Pavo, Paula

Abstract:
The increasing consumption of alcohol is causing great concern worldwide. Because traditional methods established to assess alcohol consumption in the population are neither immediate nor objective, a new approach known as wastewater for epidemiological purposes (WBE) has been developed. This methodology analyzes wastewater for the presence of metabolites of the drugs consumed. In the case of alcohol, ethyl sulfate is monitored. In the present study, wastewater samples from different Spanish WWTPs are analyzed to determine alcohol consumption using the WBE approach and with an analytical method based on IPLC-MS/MS.