Nantucket is testing wastewater for cocaine, fentanyl, meth: ‘Very helpful for both residents and first responders’

Massachusetts’ Nantucket is testing wastewater for cocaine, fentanyl, meth: ‘Very helpful for both residents and first responders’

BOSTON — The illicit secrets are in the sewage.

Nantucket to test sewage water for cocaine, fentanyl, meth

With the nationwide rise in opioid and stimulant related deaths, Nantucket will test sewage water for drugs.

Nantucket is testing wastewater for cocaine, fentanyl, meth: ‘Very helpful for both residents and first responders’

The illicit secrets are in the sewage. Just like how wastewater testing helps communities learn when COVID surges, cities and towns are able to see what drugs are spiking in real time from their wastewater. Nantucket is the latest community to start testing its sewage for drugs — partnering with a Cambridge firm that analyzes sewage for cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and xylazine. The wastewater data can help the town in its response to the…