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Ambient particle number size distributions were measured in Paris, France during summer (1-31 July 2009) and winter (15 January-15 February 2010) at three fixed ground sites and using two mobile laboratories and one airplane. The campaigns were part of the MEGAPOLI project. New particle formation (NPF) was observed only during summer at approximately 50% of the campaign days, assisted by the low condensation sink (about 10.7 ± 5.9 × 10-3 s-1). NPF events inside the Paris plume were also observed at 600 m altitude onboard an aircraft simultaneously with regional events identified on the ground. Increased particle number concentrations were measured aloft also outside of the Paris plume at the same altitude, and were attributed to NPF. The Paris plume was identified, based on increased particle number and black carbon concentration, up to 200 km away from Paris center during summer. The number concentration of particles with diameter exceeding 2.5 nm measured on the surface at Paris center was on average 6.9 ± 8.7 × 104 and 12.1 ± 8.6 × 104 cm-3 during summer and winter, respectively, and was found to decrease exponentially with distance from Paris. However, further than 30 km from the city center, the particle number concentration at the surface was similar during both campaigns. During summer one suburban site in the NE was not significantly affected by Paris emissions due to higher background number concentrations, while the particle number concentration at the second suburban site in the SW increased by a factor of three when it was downwind of Paris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Illicit drug use presents a significant challenge to global health and public safety, requiring innovative and effective monitoring strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the current landscape of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for monitoring illicit drugs in Europe, focusing on collaboration, current practices, and barriers, while identifying opportunities for improvement., Study Design: Cross-sectional survey-based study., Methods: Coordinated by the Sewage Analysis CORe Group Europe (SCORE) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), two surveys were conducted in 2023 targeting researchers and stakeholders using WBE for illicit drugs. Data were analysed to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improving WBE implementation., Results: The findings indicate a robust research infrastructure and diverse analytical methods among European institutions. Two-thirds of the participating countries reported using WBE data to inform policy. However, challenges persist, particularly in securing funding and coordination, as well as generating national estimates from multiple locations and addressing specific local policy needs., Conclusions: WBE has proven to be a valuable tool for monitoring illicit drug trends and informing drug policies. To unlock its full potential, sustained funding, methodological standardization, and enhanced cooperation are essential. This study provides critical insights into the European WBE landscape, offering a roadmap for strengthening the integration of actionable WBE data into public health and policy frameworks., (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

The complexity around the dynamic markets for new psychoactive substances (NPS) forces researchers to develop and apply innovative analytical strategies to detect and identify them in influent urban wastewater. In this work a comprehensive suspect screening workflow following liquid chromatography - high resolution mass spectrometry analysis was established utilising the open-source InSpectra data processing platform and the HighResNPS library. In total, 278 urban influent wastewater samples from 47 sites in 16 countries were collected to investigate the presence of NPS and other drugs of abuse. A total of 50 compounds were detected in samples from at least one site. Most compounds found were prescription drugs such as gabapentin (detection frequency 79%), codeine (40%) and pregabalin (15%). However, cocaine was the most found illicit drug (83%), in all countries where samples were collected apart from the Republic of Korea and China. Eight NPS were also identified with this protocol: 3-methylmethcathinone 11%), eutylone (6%), etizolam (2%), 3-chloromethcathinone (4%), mitragynine (6%), phenibut (2%), 25I-NBOH (2%) and trimethoxyamphetamine (2%). The latter three have not previously been reported in municipal wastewater samples. The workflow employed allowed the prioritisation of features to be further investigated, reducing processing time and gaining in confidence in their identification., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The proliferation of new psychoactive substances (NPS) over recent years has made their surveillance complex. The analysis of raw municipal influent wastewater can allow a broader insight into community consumption patterns of NPS. This study examines data from an international wastewater surveillance program that collected and analysed influent wastewater samples from up to 47 sites in 16 countries between 2019 and 2022. Influent wastewater samples were collected over the New Year period and analysed using validated liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry methods. Over the three years, a total of 18 NPS were found in at least one site. Synthetic cathinones were the most found class followed by phenethylamines and designer benzodiazepines. Furthermore, two ketamine analogues, one plant based NPS (mitragynine) and methiopropamine were also quantified across the three years. This work demonstrates that NPS are used across different continents and countries with the use of some more evident in particular regions. For example, mitragynine has highest mass loads in sites in the United States, while eutylone and 3-methylmethcathinone increased considerably in New Zealand and in several European countries, respectively. Moreover, 2F-deschloroketamine, an analogue of ketamine, has emerged more recently and could be quantified in several sites, including one in China, where it is considered as one of the drugs of most concern. Finally, some NPS were detected in specific regions during the initial sampling campaigns and spread to additional sites by the third campaign. Hence, wastewater surveillance can provide an insight into temporal and spatial trends of NPS use., Competing Interests: RUH and EMD are cofounders of AquaVitas, LLC, Phoenix, Arizona, United States, an Arizona State University startup company providing commercial services in wastewater-based epidemiology. RUH also is the founder of OneWaterOneHealth, a nonprofit project of the Arizona State University Foundation., (© 2023 The Author(s).)

A method for the measurement of the water solubility distribution of atmospheric organic aerosols is presented. This method is based on the extraction of organic aerosols collected on filters, using different amounts of water and measurement of the corresponding water-soluble organic carbon concentration. The solubility distribution is then estimated using the solubility basis set. The method was applied on both ambient and source-specific aerosols. Approximately 60% of the atmospheric urban organic aerosol analyzed had water solubility higher than 0.6 g L -1 . Around 10% of the fresh cooking organic aerosol had water solubility higher than 10 g L -1 , while 80% of the total fresh cooking organic aerosol had solubility lower than 0.1 g L -1 . The ambient measurements suggested that the solubility distributions are roughly consistent with the positive matrix factorization analysis results determined during the analysis of the high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometry data. Most of the oxidized organic aerosol appears to have water solubility above 0.6 g L -1 , while the hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol and cooking organic aerosol have water solubility less than 0.002 and 0.1 g L -1 , respectively. The biomass burning organic aerosol seems to have mostly intermediate solubility in water, between 0.04 and 0.6 g L -1 . The proposed approach can quantify the solubility distribution in the 0.002-15 g L -1 range. Future extension of the method to higher solubility ranges would be useful for capturing the complete solubility range for atmospheric cloud condensation studies (0.1-100 g L -1 ).

The potential effect of changing to a nonfossil fuel vehicle fleet was investigated by measuring primary emissions (by extractive sampling of bus plumes) and secondary mass formation, using a Gothenburg Potential Aerosol Mass (Go:PAM) reactor, from 29 in-use transit buses. Regarding fresh emissions, diesel (DSL) buses without a diesel particulate filter (DPF) emitted the highest median mass of particles, whereas compressed natural gas (CNG) buses emitted the lowest ( Md EF PM 514 and 11 mg kg fuel -1 , respectively). Rapeseed methyl ester (RME) buses showed smaller Md EF PM and particle sizes than DSL buses. DSL (no DPF) and hybrid-electric RME (RME HEV ) buses exhibited the highest particle numbers ( Md EF PN 12 × 10 14 # kg fuel -1 ). RME HEV buses displayed a significant nucleation mode ( D p < 20 nm). EF PN of CNG buses spanned the highest to lowest values measured. Low Md EF PN and Md EF PM were observed for a DPF-equipped DSL bus. Secondary particle formation resulting from exhaust aging was generally important for all the buses (79% showed an average EF PM:AGED /EF PM:FRESH ratio >10) and fuel types tested, suggesting an important nonfuel dependent source. The results suggest that the potential for forming secondary mass should be considered in future fuel shifts, since the environmental impact is different when only considering the primary emissions.

The measurement of Water-Soluble Organic Carbon (WSOC) in atmospheric aerosol is usually carried out by sample collection on filters, extraction in ultrapure water, filtration, and measurement of the total organic carbon. This paper investigates the role of different conditions of sampling and extraction as well as the range of solubilities of the organic compounds that contribute to the WSOC. The sampling and extraction of WSOC can be described by a single parameter, P, expressing the ratio of water used per volume of air sampled on the analyzed filter. Two cases are examined in order to bound the range of interactions of the various organic aerosol components with each other. In the first we assume that the organic species form an ideal solution in the particle and in the second that the extraction of a single compound is independent of the presence of the other organics. The ideal organic solution model predicts that species with water solubility as low as 10(-4) g L(-1) contribute to the measured WSOC. In the other end, the independent compounds model predicts that low-solubility (as low as 10(-7) g L(-1)) compounds are part of the WSOC. Studies of the WSOC composition are consistent with the predictions of the ideal organic solution model. A value of P = 0.1 cm(3) m(-3) is proposed for the extraction of WSOC for typical organic aerosol concentrations (1-10 μg m(-3)). WSOC measurements under high concentration conditions often used during source sampling will tend to give low WSOC values unless higher P values are used.