001-40 WC 139 NOV-DEC24 PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 16
WASTEWATER
Regular wastewater analysis provided insight to
the prevalence of polysubstance use at the remote
worksite. Priority substances of concern with highest
frequency were methamphetamine and cocaine;
cocaine (and its metabolite benzoylecgonine) was
found in 100 per cent of samples tested.
Total per cent frequency in wastewater samples
100
80
60
40
20
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WATER C AN ADA • NOV EMBER/ DECEMBER 2024
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swabbing of thousands of workers, this approach directed efforts
to groups of less than one hundred. Not only did this targeted
approach dramatically reduce the time and costs required for
individual screening, but it also caused less disruption to camp
operations, as fewer workers were subject to isolation measures
and downtime.
Following the success of this project, operators at the camp
facility identified an opportunity to expand wastewater surveillance in support of broader Health and Safety initiatives;
specifically to harm reduction related to substances of potential
abuse (SoPA).
Pilot project
Interest in WBE applied to SoPA stemmed from the potential
to reduce costs for enforcement, screening, and lost productive
time, as well as the opportunity to improve outcomes related to
illicit drug use, including the avoidance of overdose incidents.
The inherent anonymity of wastewater surveillance also presented a less invasive strategy for identifying SoPA; an improvement
over random drug testing. This initiative represented a Canadian
first for an industrial camp.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
C.E.C. Innovations
municipal-level surveillance of the virus; an extremely costefficient means of collecting anonymous public health data to
support rapid decision-making. Newly developed autosamplers
sized to be placed anywhere were making it possible to gather
this data at smaller scales, and it was proposed that this same
technology could be applied at a remote work site.
A key consideration was the effort required for installation
of autosamplers, however, the labour required for set up and
maintenance was minimal and handled by C.E.C. Analytics.
The devices were small and lightweight, allowing them to be
positioned so as not to interfere with other infrastructure, and
no complex attachments were required for installation. All that
was needed was a single site tour to scope infrastructure and a
few hours for installation.
At the dormitory level, installation points were specifically
selected to enable targeted surveillance. By collecting at this level, the results remained anonymized but enabled more efficient
allocation of resources. For example, operators working with
H&S teams could identify which dormitories showed any signs
of viral infections, and could then perform individual swab tests
with a smaller subset of the camp population. Instead of mass
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