Chromatography Uncovers the Effects of Music Festivals on Local Water Supplies

Normally, when we talk about water pollution, we are worried about contaminants entering rivers, lakes and reservoirs from local power stations or the suchlike. The recent popularity of the practice of fracking has caused concern among many who believe it endangers the local water supply with unwanted pollutants, while not long ago radioactive contamination was found in New Jersey water supplies, casting aspersions on the safety of that practice.

But how about after a music festival rolls into town? Of course, these events are almost synonymous with drug use, though the after-effects of such hedonism are rarely discussed. Now, a new study from Taiwan has shed new light on the subject, using the technique of liquid chromatography combined with mass spectrometry (LC-MS).

Taiwanese Study Offers Insight

A collaboration from scientists from the National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Medical University and the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Hsinchu examined water from local rivers throughout the year to test for emerging contaminants (ECs). ECs are generally better equipped to pass through water waste treatment facilities, since the sites are not designed to detect them. Among other substances, they include pharmaceutical drugs, recreational (illegal) drugs and caffeine.

By testing the water from several rivers as well as the influents and effluents of two waste treatment plants, the team were able to find out some illuminating information about the after-effects of a music festival on the local aquatic environment. The team tested the water at four different time periods over the year to gain some perspective on their findings.

Using LC-MS, they searched specifically for 30 different ECs, including several different illegal drugs, personal care products, pharmaceutical drugs and caffeine.

Wastewater Plants Somewhat Effective

Most of the 30 ECs searched for were found in the water taken from the waste treatment facilities, with 20 or more of them found in 90% of all samples. The most common substances were the recreational drugs MDMA and ketamine, along with caffeine, paracetamol and ibuprofen, among others, showing that drug use does indeed affect the local water supply.

These figures peaked around the time of the festival, with the final day of the event (which attracted more than 600,000 fans) being the apex. Such studies prove that a music festival – and the inevitable drug intake which goes along with it – can have a knock-on effect on local water. The greatest increase in substance levels was for MDMA, rising from 89.1 ng/L to a whopping 940 ng/L – almost a 1000% increase. Similar patterns of frequent casual drug use have been observed elsewhere around the globe, including in Australia, where a few years ago police revealed that 1 in 49 motorists tested positive for drugs.

The good news, however, is that the wastewater treatment facilities are doing their jobs, to some extent. Lesser levels of ECs were found in samples taken from the river throughout the year, and a comparison of influent and effluent levels found that the plants did much to reduce harmful contaminants. In particular, the recreational drugs MDMA and ketamine were not found in significant levels in the water, though caffeine, codeine and ampicillin were.

High-Flying Fish?

The actual effect that these ECs have on the local aquatic fauna is unknown, but a rise in levels of such intoxicants must surely be felt by the fish and plant-life to some degree. The Taiwanese study proves that not only is drug use rife at music festivals, but that such use will undoubtedly trickle down to the animals, as well.