Mon, 17 Aug 2009 08:40:59 GMT
The latest studies reveal up to nine out of 10 American banknotes test positive for traces of cocaine presenting strong evidence of dirty money in the country.
The biggest and most comprehensive analysis to date of cocaine contamination of banknotes, as researchers describe, showed that up to 90 percent of paper money in the United States bears traces of cocaine.
The results show that in large cities such as Baltimore, Boston, and Detroit the traces are easier to find. Analysis of bank notes from Washington DC showed that 95 percent of them carried minute particles of cocaine.
The scientists tested banknotes from more than 30 cities in five countries, namely the US, Canada, Brazil, China, and Japan.
The US and Canada had the highest levels, with an average contamination rate of between 85 and 90 percent, while China and Japan had the lowest, between 12 and 20 percent contamination.
