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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Politics
Joe Hinchliffe

Deadly synthetic opioids 40 times stronger than fentanyl detected in Australian wastewater for first time

A general view of an ambulance
Two variants of the deadly opioids have been detected in an Australian water treatment plant for the first time. Photograph: Russell Freeman/AAP

Deadly synthetic opioids up to 40 times more powerful than fentanyl have been detected in Australian wastewater for the first time, new research has found.

An international survey, led by the University of Queensland’s Dr Richard Bade and published in the scientific journal Addiction on Wednesday, detected two variants of nitazene in an Australian treatment plant.

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