Established in 2011 with the support of the European funded programme for Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST), the Sewage Analysis CORe group Europe (SCORE) was created as an inter-disciplinary network of experts interested in the possibilities offered by the analysis of human biomarkers in wastewater. SCORE’s main goal consisted in setting up a framework to define best practices in the field of wastewater testing, coordinate worldwide monitoring campaigns including uniform data collection, promote research in the field of wastewater testing for biomarkers (e.g., novel psychoactive substances, health, lifestyle and diet) and increase the spatial and temporal resolution in the available data. Among its activities, SCORE developed a worldwide inter-laboratory comparison study (ILS) to ensure that laboratories participating to the worldwide monitoring campaign provide reliable data. The testing scheme focused on the analysis of 7 illicit drugsresidues in different matrices (i.e., standard solutions, tap- and wastewater). Repeated over the course of 6 years, the ILS counted a total of 37 laboratories from 25 different countries. It allowed to identify key challenges and develop solutions to improve the quality of reported results. Specifically, the collected data allowed to identify the most suitable matrices to carry out the exercise. Moreover, pre-analytical issues were identified for some compounds (e.g. THC-COOH) and led to formulation of best-practice protocols for the setup of analytical procedures in laboratories. Globally, the obtained results proved that participating laboratories provided high-quality results (&gt; 80% satisfactory results for 6 out of 7 tested compounds) and that continuous follow-up is necessary to ensure and further improve the quality of results from wastewater analyses.

Sewage analysis CORe groupe Europe (SCORE) – Overview of a pan-European network coordinating illicit drug measurements in wastewater

256th National Meeting (2018)

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