Flask in scientist hand and test tubes in rack
It is with great pleasure that the International Nirea Water Research Center of the University of Cyprus announces the signing of a new collaboration with the Cyprus Addictions Authority (AAEK). The new ALTO research program aims to study the use of alcohol and tobacco products, through the monitoring of specific indicators and their metabolites in municipal wastewater. The memorandum of cooperation, signed yesterday by the president of AAEK, Dr. Christos Minas, and the Head of the Research and Innovation Support Service of the University of Cyprus, Dr. Marios Dimitriadis, aims at the systematic measurement and calculation of alcohol and tobacco consumption by residents in the areas of Nicosia and of Ayia Napa-Paralimni and will last one year.
At the same time, the DETECTION research program was renewed for the third consecutive year, in the context of which drug consumption is monitored in the areas of Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and Agia Napa-Paralimni.
The the responsible laboratory for carrying out the work is the Gaia Environmental and Technical Processes and Water Systems Laboratory (Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering – Nirea International Water Research Center), headed by Professor Despo Fatta-Kassinou. The main researcher in both projects is Dr. Magda Psychoudaki.
Wastewater epidemiology, as the methodology adopted to carry out this type of research work is called, is based on the fact that the chemical substances consumed by humans end up either as such or biochemically modified (metabolites), in urban waste water and as a result end up in sewage treatment plants of each region. By therefore examining their presence and quantity in urban wastewater and using appropriate algorithms, the levels of use of the above substances by the population served by the Urban Wastewater Treatment Plants from which samples are taken can be calculated.
The Nirea Research Center and AAEK warmly thank the local Sewerage Boards, as well as the staff of the Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants, who make such important research efforts possible. Their contribution and cooperation are a crucial part of the success of research work and contribute to the possibility of developing policies and programs for prevention, intervention and treatment of addictions.
