Psychotropic substances in the air a background site in Stockholm

Until recently, field experiments aimed at verifying the occurrence of psychotropic substances in the air were overall carried in Italy and South American countries; as for Northern Europe, short tests were made in London and Amsterdam. A preliminary study in Stockholm has been performed from September to November, 2014. For this purpose, particulates were collected daily according to standard methods for measuring PM10/PM2.5 contents in the air and gathered to form 14-day pools; then, organic components were extracted in ultra-sonic bath with a DCM/acetone mixture, fractionated through column chromatography and analysed by GC-MSD to investigate n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polar compounds; if occurring, psychotropic substances (i.e. nicotine, caffeine, cocaine, cannabidiol, cannabinol and 9 -tetra-hydrocannabinol THC) were in the third fraction. Tables 1-2 report the concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene BaP, PAHs and psychotropic substances in PM2.5 and PM10 during the in-field campaign. Small differences were found between parallel PM2.5 and PM10 data, while in general all values raised up starting from Nov 1. As for illicit drugs, cocaine was detected, but not reached the LOQ of the method, THC and cannabidiol were absent, while cannabinol could be evaluated (Figure 1). Other polar compounds were detected in particulates, i.e. diethyltoluamide (DEET), phosphonic and phthalate esters; more nonylphenol was found in September than in October, the reverse occurred for tetrabutyl-bisphenol A.