Sydney, you have a problem – and your wee is telling the world about it.
Australian urine is being sent overseas for a massive international study of what our waste reveals about us. The European led study is getting into the sewers to find out what people are putting into their body.
This is what it may find according to results of some wee leakage into our harbour which have just been analysed.
– The top drug in Sydney systems is at least legal. It’s paracetamol (clearly the real estate prices of Sydney are giving everyone a headache).
– But the second and third most common drugs that showed up in Sydney’s wee were anti-depressants such as Prozac.
– Codeine came fourth.
– Strong narcotic pain killers came fifth and sixth.
Sydney Water says artificial sweeteners such as Acesulfame also show up.
The European project that Sydney has now joined has analysed wastewater in over 40 cities in 21 countries to explore the drug-taking habits of those who live in them.
London is party town. Its sewers have the highest level of cocaine in Europe. Every 1000 Londoners wee-d out 737mg of cocaine, and Friday and Saturdays saw the highest flush of the party drug.
Amsterdam wee is also high on cocaine, and levels continue to rise on Sundays when Londoners are in recovering mode. Amsterdam also wins the title for the most cannabis in its toilets.
Finland is the least drug-fuelled city.
European researchers are also investigating urine to find out what rogue online pharmacies are selling. One study tracked the sewage load of an erectile dysfunction drug in three cities in the Netherlands.