Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40435233›Full record

ArticleScience advances2025

Identifying wastewater chemicals in coastal aerosols.

Adam Cooper, Lucia Cancelada, Ralph Riley Torres, Kathryn Belcher, Mallory Small, Pedro Belda-Ferre, Clare Morris, Brock Mitts, Julie Dinasquet, Rob Knight and 2 more

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. HONO emission from marine algae.Science advances · 2026
    Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Adam CooperDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2296-966X
Lucia CanceladaDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-7438-9587
Ralph Riley TorresScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5816-6068
Kathryn BelcherDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Mallory SmallDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Pedro Belda-FerreDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6532-1161
Clare MorrisDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4314-5387
Brock MittsDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-5936-8748
Julie DinasquetScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3401-764X
Rob KnightDepartment of Pediatrics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-0975-9019
Jonathan H SladeDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-5026-4229
Kimberly A PratherDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-3048-9890

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The Tijuana River, at the US-Mexico border, discharges millions of gallons of wastewater daily-sewage, industrial waste, and runoff-into the Pacific Ocean, making it the dominant source of coastal pollution in this region. This study examines how such wastewater influences coastal aerosols by tracking spatial gradients from near the border northward. Using benzoylecgonine (a nonvolatile cocaine metabolite) as a sewage tracer, we find that wastewater compounds-including a mixture of illicit drugs, drug metabolites, and chemicals from tires and personal care products-become aerosolized and are detectable in both water and air. Spatial analyses confirm that most measured chemicals concentrate in aerosols near the Tijuana River, potentially exposing local populations to tens of nanograms per hour (e.g., octinoxate and methamphetamine) via inhalation. This airborne pathway highlights a largely overlooked source of atmospheric pollution, emphasizing the need to reassess health risks in coastal regions as global water contamination continues to escalate.

Indexed as

Environmental MonitoringWastewaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalAerosolsMexicoAerosolsWastewaterWater Pollutants, Chemical

Identifiers

PMID40435233
PMCPMC12118540

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.