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Scientists use sewage to pinpoint meth labs

By Brooks Hays

COOKEVILLE, Tenn., Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Watch out Walter White, scientists can now sniff out meth labs with the help of a device that analyzes the odors of downstream sewage -- the high-tech version of a police investigator snooping through garbage.

Scientists at Tennessee Technological University recently tested their device, called the Polar Organic Chemical Integrative Sampler, by placing it in the midst of flowing sewage at three separate locations. A small sponge-like membrane in the middle the device soaks up chemicals, allowing water and dissolved materials to flow through freely. After a few weeks, the absorbed material is collected and analyzed.

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During their experiment, the researchers found that one of their three devices tested positive for methamphetamine. The research was recently published in Science of The Total Environment, and the authors believe the work is proof that their device could be useful to law enforcement.

The goal of the operation was to prove the device worked, not to initiate a criminal investigation, the scientists say. The specific information about where the meth was identified will not be turned over to police.

Regardless, other scientists are impressed. "The paper showed a proof of concept that it is possible to qualitatively determine either presence, or absence, of a polar compound of interest in raw sewage," Tammy Jones-Lepp, a chemist at the EPA, told Discovery News.

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If adopted as a police tool, it might mean Walter White would have to abandon any operations that rely on public sewage systems for waste disposal and go back to driving five miles into the desert to cook his Blue Magic.

[Science of The Total Environment] [Discovery News]

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