Deadly synthetic opioids have been detected in Australian wastewater for the first time, an international survey, led by University of Queensland researchers, has found. The research is published in Addiction.

Dr. Richard Bade from UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences said two highly potent and addictive nitazene variants were detected during one week of wastewater testing over the New Year periods of 2022–23 and 2023–24.

“Two nitazene variants—protonitazene and etonitazepyne—were found at five separate sites in Australia and the United States,” Dr. Bade said.

“The levels we found in Australia were significantly higher than those identified in the United States, which is quite concerning.

“Protonitazene is about three times as strong as fentanyl, which has driven an overdose crisis in North America in the last decade, while etonitazepyne is 40 times more powerful.”‘

Of nearly 700 wastewater samples gathered by scientists in 68 locations across 22 countries, traces of nitazenes were found in Australia and the United States.

Dr. Bade said the Australian results did not correlate with any other data sources, which could mean the detected drugs were a result of direct disposal, not consumption.

“We are leaning more towards direct disposal, but it still meant nitazenes were in Australia,”‘ Dr. Bade said.

“Interestingly, a few months after our collection we started seeing public health alerts from other Australian states.”‘

Nitazenes are a rising public health threat, with fatal overdoses reported globally, including Australia, Europe, New Zealand, and the United States.

They emerged on the illicit market in the late 2010s and have since transformed into one of the fastest growing psychoactive substances in the world.

Most dangerously, many overdoses occur due to users taking nitazenes unknowingly with compounds often mixed into illicit drugs such as MDMA, ketamine, cannabinoids and methamphetamine.

Dr. Bade said wastewater monitoring has emerged as a promising tool to serve as an early warning system for law enforcement and health authorities.

“We have developed highly sensitive instruments that filter through nitazenes in preparation for them to make their way to Australia,”‘ Dr. Bade said.

“Through this method we were able to detect concentrations as low as 0.01 nanograms per liter, with there being 1 billion nanograms per gram.

“Analyses can take place in real-time and data can be obtained in days to weeks so findings can be relayed to relevant authorities.

“Going forward we hope to establish a complementary surveillance tool to support the rapid deployment of public health interventions before harm occurs and becomes widespread.”

Last year, a study by UQ researchers and international collaborators led by Dr. Bade detected protonitazene in United States wastewater for the first time.