Synthetic Drug Production in Belgium – Environmental Harms as Collateral Damage?

Abstract

The production of illicit drugs contributes to important environmental harms. In the European context, the production of synthetic drugs, particularly MDMA and amphetamine (and more recently methamphetamine), increasingly poses environmental challenges. The production of these substances in Europe is mainly concentrated in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in Belgium. In this contribution we focus on the Belgian case, particularly in Flanders-the Belgian region where synthetic drug production has been more present. The goals of our analysis are 1) to document the presence of illicit synthetic drug production and dumping of chemical waste material in that region, 2) to explore the media coverage of environmental harms associated with those activities, and 3) to identify the range of reported environmental harms. We draw on data from the Belgian Federal Police and on an analysis of 289 news articles published in selected Flemish newspapers (2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019)(2020). The findings indicate that although there is an increasing trend in the presence of synthetic drug production and dumping sites in Belgium, the details on the nature and extent of environmental harms are often unknown. Besides difficulties around detecting certain types of dumping events, there are also important blind spots in terms of the monitoring of environmental hazards by law enforcement agencies and how that information is shared among the relevant actors.

Detection dogs fighting transnational narcotraffic: performance and challenges under real customs scenario in Brazil

“…Illegal synthetic drug consumption and trade have also experienced a significant increase in South America, with around 130 new synthetic psychotropic substances identified in the region from 2013 to 2017 ( 29 ). In Europe, a similar ascension in the consumption and trade of synthetic drugs has been detected, with the Netherlands being one of the most significant producers (methamphetamines, amphetamines, and MDMA) ( 30 ).…”

The Environmental Impacts of Illicit Drug Production

“…The model data suggested insects affected by anti-viral drug compounds, which are then consumed by bats, risk the evolution of anti-viral resistant viruses in bats. While this study draws conclusions based on observations of licit compound interactions, it signposts some key issues which are poorly understood when considering the health risks of pseudopersistent illicit drug compounds, particularly due to the constraints limiting the detection of contamination sites and neutralisation of chemical waste (Pardal et al, 2021). Richmond et al (2018) argue there is a risk of the biomagnification of illicit compounds upwards in the food chain, citing evidence from limited controlled studies investigating the effects of targeted compounds on specific species.…”

“…In coca production in the Amazon basin, farmers also often use chemical fertilisers and herbicides which leach into the surrounding environment, while coca leaves are soaked in gasoline and other chemicals to extract the coca base, with more than 300 litres of gasoline used to produce one kilogram of cocaine (UNODC, 2023a). In studies of MDMA and amphetamine production in Belgium, 6-10kg of chemical waste are generated for every 1kg of MDMA, whereas for amphetamine, 20-30kg of waste are produced per kg (Pardal et al, 2021). For the production of methamphetamine, which uses readily available ingredients, including common cold medicines, ammonia fertiliser and hydrochloric acid, the cooking process generates a variety of harmful solvents and gases, including hydrogen chloride and phosphine (NDIC, 2004).…”

“…Sampling from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is a prevailing mechanism to quantify solutions of hazardous chemicals in sewage, providing an indicative profile of population use, although presence in wastewater is also determined by the differential metabolism of specific drugs (Rosi et al, 2023). There is a high probability that waste will not be detected when discharged into sewers or groundwater (Pardal et al, 2021).…”

“…Chemical waste from illicit drug production may also enter the environment through direct dumping of barrels in ditches, on the street and in nature, and in vehicles and trailers, in addition to leaching from and abandonment of production sites (Ter Laak & Emke, 2023). Due to the clandestine nature of illicit drug production, including fly tipping of waste, many such sites are not easily discovered or documented, while remediating pollutants in the sewer system is practically very difficult due to the continuous nature of wastewater treatment (Ter Laak & Emke, 2023;Pardal et al, 2021).…”