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Recognizing Dangers of Clandestine Meth Labs
By Lynn D. Dewees, P.E.
Stories about its abuse are everywhere you turn, from TV news shows like 20/20 and Dateline to news magazines like Newsweek and Time . A Google search of the word comes up with 21,200,000 hits. The word, and scourge, in question is “meth,” the nickname for methamphetamine. Once an illegal drug confined to the extreme fringes of American culture, such as motorcycle gangs, meth is now believed to have been tried by more than 12 million Americans. More than 1.5 million people are regular users. It is the fastest-growing drug epidemic to hit this country since the crack cocaine explosion in the early 1990s.
Because of the intense, euphoric sensation it instantly creates, users become quickly addicted and use more of it, more often, as time goes on. Its use has spread far beyond the lower classes, from blue-collar to white-collar workers alike. Of concern to the environmental health and safety professional is the fact that the meth plague is infecting the workplace and the surrounding environment. It is a problem that must be recognized and dealt with immediately and properly.
Because the recipe for meth is readily available, addicts and aspiring entrepreneurs have set up “mom-and-pop” shops in their homes, a factor that brings the danger even closer to the workplace. Of the thousands of clandestine drug labs that are raided each year, about half are located in houses. Other common sites are trailers and vans, apartments and condos, storage units, and hotels and motels.
The severe effects on human health caused by the snorting, injecting, or smoking of meth are seemingly endless. They include seizures, auditory and visual hallucinations, risk of heart attack, stroke, liver damage, and rotten teeth. Those people who are exposed to the toxic fumes during the cooking process could be subjected to sudden cardiac arrest upon inhalation, severe lung damage, eye and mucous membrane damage, severe gastric irritation, or coma.
Environmental health and safety professionals should be alert to symptoms of meth addiction in the workplace. These include irritability; aggressive behavior; anxiety and excitement; paranoia, delusion, and psychosis; severe mood changes; and a propensity to violence. There are numerous pre-employment and employment drug tests available to detect the use of meth and other drugs, and established company policies concerning drug use should be followed.
Destruction of the Environment
Of equal importance is the toll that the production of meth is taking on the environment. The amount of hazardous chemical waste generated in making one pound of cooked meth is five pounds. The cooking process creates noxious solvents and gases, such as hydrogen chloride, phosphine and meth itself. The byproducts stay on the premises, contaminating all surfaces and seeping into walls, floorboard and carpeting and usually migrating through HVAC duct systems into adjoining apartments, hotel rooms, or other facilities, including places of work. These highly volatile chemicals present a very common but fatal danger of explosion and fire. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, one-third of clandestine labs are found as a result of fire or explosion on the premises.
Chemicals that can be used in the concoction of the drug include iodine crystal, hydrogen chloride, acetone, lithium metal, red phosphorus, ether, lye, alcohol, pseudoephedrine (an ingredient in some forms of Sudafed) and Freon. When cooked over a stove top or hot plate, these substances can combine to produce meth.
Signs of Meth Lab Presence
Some of the physical signs of the cooking of meth can be staining or etching marks on sinks, toilets, bathtubs or stoves; brown and red staining on the walls and other surfaces that almost seem to bleed color when they are washed; and added ventilation systems located over workbenches, in attics or basements. Other hints may be blacked-out or covered windows; chemical smells emanating from the property; compressed gas cylinders that have bluish staining on the valves; and an excessive amount of broken batteries, matchbook covers, road flairs and rock salt.
Companies contemplating the acquisition of new property may want to perform a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment (ESA), which can provide a general indication of the past and existing conditions on a site and can indicate a recognized environmental condition. Any transfer of industrial or commercial real estate now dictates that an ESA is performed before any final transaction is made.
How do the drug addicts and suppliers dispose of the waste generated in the meth cooking process? “They dig a hole in the ground, pour it into the backyard, pour it down the kitchen drain, bury it in the woods or desert, or dump it into the septic tank,” said one expert from the Department of Justice. “Soil and groundwater contamination, release of toxic fumes and poisonous gases, and other dangers cannot be overestimated.”
Meth Lab Cleanup
Each time a meth lab is found, strict protocol must be followed first by law enforcement officers who enter the premises and those who are responsible for supervising a proper investigation. It is not uncommon for labs to be booby-trapped to deter intruders, and even first-time inhalation of some fumes, such as phosphine, can be fatal. At present, the government is training personnel on all phases of investigation, seizure, arrest, dismantling, waste removal and remediation of contaminated property.
Today, only a few states require remediation contractors to be certified. The state of Washington 's Clandestine Drug Program is widely viewed as the “gold standard” for all aspects of drug lab identification, training and decontamination.
Step 1: Seek Outside Help
The first step in remediation is bringing in an environmental consultant to make a thorough inspection of the premises. The consultant, in turn, engages a certified remediation contractor to begin the work. Workers typically wear Tyvek suits and respirators with filtration cartridges. Because needle sticks may transmit HIV or hepatitis B, technicians wear heavy protective gloves, usually made of leather. Heavy-soled shoes are essential.
Step 2: Remove Objects, Surfaces
Nearly every movable object in the room, including drapes, carpeting, furniture, dishware and toys, are removed. Any place where rust is seen is most likely a site of contamination. Because acids and bases are used in the cooking process, neutralization must take place. At this point, cooking equipment, including beakers, hot plates and other utensils, would have already been removed as evidence by the police. Other items still on the site are bagged and disposed of properly, according to the level of exposure indicated by the consultant. When necessary, paneling, acoustic tiles and other porous surfaces must be removed.
Step 3: Cleaning and Abatement
Technicians clean with a detergent wash, starting at the ceiling and washing and rinsing three times. Drywall can be damaged by the washing process and may need to be removed. The last area to be washed thoroughly is the floor. Guidelines recommend that walls with minimal contamination be painted with oil-based paint in order to encapsulate any residue.
When septic tanks are present, technicians must test their contents. If the exposure is minimal, protocol dictates that they are left alone. If exposure is more extensive, the tanks must be cleaned or even removed. Under the direction of the environmental consultant, the remediation contractor may have to remove the contaminated soil if necessary and replace it with clean soil, handling disposal according to state guidelines. HVAC duct systems are also tested and can be cleaned using HEPA filter-equipped vacuums and procedures similar to those used when asbestos has been detected. Following the remediation, the environmental consultant tests and analyzes one final time.
Conclusion
The meth epidemic is not going away. And with its terrible impact on human health and the environment, it is incumbent upon every health and safety professional to be well versed in recognizing the possible abuse of the drug in the workplace and the possible dangers it may present in the work setting.
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