Plans to improve student safety in Audrain County, and Missouri as a whole, could include voluntary wastewater testing for opioids.

At its March 26 meeting, members of the Van-Far School District Board of Education heard a presentation from Dr. Natalie Gibson, district superintendent, regarding a Missouri Department of Public Safety program that would test the district’s wastewater for a synthetic opioid.

The drug in question — nitazenes.

The Missouri Department of Health & Senior Services, in collaboration with the Department of Public Safety, Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, and Department of Mental Health, issued a warning regarding nitazenes. According to the warning, nitazenes can be five to 10 times more potent than fentanyl and their presence has been increasingly identified across the state.

“Nitazenes are a hidden killer,” Mark James, DPS director, said in the warning. “Even a tiny amount of nitazenes can cause someone to stop breathing, and they’re increasingly being detected in counterfeit pills — but most people have never heard of them. Protect yourself: avoid using all illicit substances and only use medications obtained directly from a pharmacist with a valid prescription.”

Nitazenes have been identified in the form of counterfeit pills, illicit powders, unregulated cannabis products and vape liquids, often without the user’s knowledge, officials said.

“I’m a member of ACCORD in Mexico where we are an opioid group trying to collect data and get rid of this problem, because it is a problem,” Gibson said. “When they showed us samples of what it might look like compared to some of the other drugs that we can purchase, you really can’t tell the difference.”

In 2024, nitazenes were implicated in 14 deaths in Missouri, more than triple the total number recorded between 2019 and 2023, and they do not show up on traditional drug screenings.

The free program, Gibson said, came to her as a communication from DPS.

“Probably two months ago, I received an email that asked if we wanted to voluntarily participate in testing,” she told board members. “Scary, scary statistics and the fact that we can volunteer as a school district to have our wastewater tested for a new form of opioids.”

Gibson said she was hesitant at first but was told that Van-Far School District would not be explicitly named should a test turn up positive.

“The gentleman with the Department of Public Safety assured us it won’t go public with where our school is,” Gibson said. “Our school name will never be mentioned.”

She also said that participation would help officials gather data in order to secure more federal grants that could lead to more naloxone (Narcan) vending machines.

“One of the only resources that they know helps fix it is, in fact, Narcan,” Gibson said. “On our campuses, we do have some Narcan, but this is a situation where one, two doses may not be the cure.”

Currently, 37 Missouri schools participate in the wastewater testing program, and since January, nitazenes have been detected in 26 schools. Affected counties include Boone, Ralls, Cooper, Gasconade, Lincoln, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Jefferson, Phelps, Dent, Texas, Shannon, Scott, New Madrid, Barry, Lawrence, Greene, Webster, Jackson, Ray, Clinton and Holt.

“It is something our kids are participating in and if you look in our region, it’s in the wastewater in our region,” Gibson said.