Clandestine Drug Labs and Removing Toxic Waste

Contamination Detection and Meth Lab Clean Up

Jun 19, 2009 Karen Lotter

Removing toxic waste and the remediation of the site after an illegal drug lab bust is a complicated and costly exercise, from contamination detection to encapsulation.

Illegal manufacture of drugs causes many problems, including a big headache for environmental pollution experts and authorities who have to clean up the mess left behind.

Often forensic scientists are called in after a drug lab is “busted” to secure evidence and also to asses the levels of toxicity and danger to the clean-up crew before they are allowed on site.

A range of clean-up protocols has been developed but experts agree that there are generally three steps involved to advance the cleanup site from discovery to cleanup and finally to remediation.

Many professionals are involved in these three stages ranging from law enforcement personnel, crime scene investigators, forensic scientists, clean up contractors and remediation experts

Discovery to Final Cleanup of Illegal Drug Labs

Immediately, after an illegal drug lab has been discovered, specially trained law enforcement personnel should secure the site and forensic crime scene investigators proceed to process the site, looking for evidence. This is the crime scene clean up stage of the discovery.

During the second stage, the illegal chemicals and waste products are assessed and inventories and the worst of the contamination is removed from the site for safe disposal.

Testing for Contamination

The final step involves testing for contamination; cleaning up and decontamination the site and assessing if it would be safe for reuse or re-occupancy.

In most countries, the property owner is responsible for cleaning up the property, which may prove costly and time-consuming due to potentially contaminated surfaces, furnishings, fixtures, and environment. Local government authorities are often able to assist, or else a private company needs to be hired.

Companies like Spilltech in Durban, South Africa do drug lab clean up and remediation as part of a range of spill cleanup, environmental and remediation services.

Evaluation of Drug Lab Site

Clandestine drug lab sites, must be thoroughly evaluated and remediated before they can be used again. Not just a walk though inspection that notes the method of cooking and chemicals used, but also close attention must be paid to the method and locations of disposal of hazardous waste and storage of chemicals. Strategic sampling is good practice.

Sampling in Meth Lab Clean Ups

According to The Safety Guys, the most common parameters are methamphetamine and its precursors (ephedrine and pseudoephedrine); volatile organic compounds (VOCs); and, if the P2P or amalgam method was used, lead and mercury. VOCs are determined using portable photo-ionization detectors. Methamphetamine is ascertained using wipe sampling, as is lead. Mercury can be detected using wipe samples or direct reading mercury analyzers employing atomic adsorption spectrometry for air sampling (the preferred method).

Remediation Techniques Are Adjusted to Target Area

With the sampling data in hand, the targeted remediation can begin. Because the types of surfaces in a specific target area are known, remediation techniques can be adjusted. The main ones are:

• removal – porous material like carpets, wallpaper, clothing, appliances
• surface washing – non-porous surfaces like counter tops, tiles, flooring, and ceilings
• encapsulation – on all surfaces that cannot be cleaned effectively – drywall, block walls, concrete floors

Hazardous Material and Remediation

Much is still unknown about hazardous material and the long-term hazards posed by residual chemicals, so the total risk factor of exposure to contamination is unknown.

Sadly, because of the cost factor, complete remediation is often not done and there are few if any established standards across the world for acceptable contamination levels. The lack of adequately trained cleanup agents further exacerbates the problem and often leads the public being exposed to un-remediated toxic areas.

Sources

The Safety Guys’ entire series on clandestine laboratories and their cleanup can be found on the Forensic Magazine® website, www.forensicmag.com., under the Magazine Articles tab.

Forensic Magazine® October/November 2007, Tearing Down the House? Clan Lab Remediation - Part 1,

Tacoma/Pierce County Health Department. Information for Property Owners

The copyright of the article Clandestine Drug Labs and Removing Toxic Waste in Forensic Science is owned by Karen Lotter. Permission to republish Clandestine Drug Labs and Removing Toxic Waste in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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