Drug labs are considered dangerous and should only be entered by trained professionals. Never handle items that you suspect were used for meth production because contact could result in poisoning or burns, and exposing certain chemicals to water or air could cause an explosion. Only trained professionals will be allowed on the property until it is properly cleaned up and receives a Certificate of Fitness. If you suspect a meth lab, call your local sheriff’s office or police department. In an emergency, call 911. DO NOT ENTER a site that you think is being used, or was used, to cook meth. Drug labs are considered dangerous and should only be entered by trained professionals. Never handle items that you suspect were used for meth production because contact could result in poisoning or burns, and exposing certain chemicals to water or air could cause an explosion. Only trained professionals will be allowed on the property until it is properly cleaned up and receives a Certificate of Fitness.

Many people may be unaware that they’re living near a meth lab. Meth labs turn up in houses, barns, apartments, trailers, campers, cabins and motel rooms – even the backs of pickups. The equipment for a meth lab can be as small as to fit in a duffel bag, a cardboard box or the trunk of a car.

Here are some things to look for in identifying a meth lab:

* Unusual, strong odors (like cat urine, ether, ammonia, acetone or other chemicals).Residences with windows blacked out.

*Renters who pay their landlords in cash. (Most drug dealer’s trade exclusively in cash.)

*Lots of traffic – people coming and going at unusual times. There may be little traffic during the day, but at  night the activity increases dramatically; including different vehicles arriving and staying for short periods of time.

*Excessive trash including large amounts of items such as: antifreeze containers, lantern fuel cans, red chemically stained coffee filters, drain cleaner and duct tape. Unusual amounts of clear glass containers being brought into the home.

*Windows blacked out or covered by aluminum foil, plywood, sheets, blankets, etc.

*Secretive / protective area surrounding the residence (like video cameras, alarm systems, guard dogs, reinforced doors, electrified fencing).

*Persons exiting the structure to smoke

*Little or no mail, furniture, visible trash and no newspaper delivery.

Presence of the following common supplies includes:

• Medication containing pseudoephedrine

• Plastic tubing, funnels

• Coffee filters

• Camp stove fuel

• Acetone, alcohol, starter fluid, or toluene

• Iodine

• Lithium batteries

• Hydrochloric acid and lye

• Matchbooks or flares

Continue reading “What if I suspect a Meth Lab in My Area?“

Proper clean-up of a meth lab involves disposing of everything porous and everything that can’t be submerged in detoxification chemicals (several times). Crime-scene cleaners get rid of all furniture, cabinetry, light fixtures, carpeting and electronics … basically everything that isn’t part of the structure. And in the worst cases, they also dispose of most of the structure — they sometimes have to pull up all of the flooring and gut the walls, removing all of the drywall until nothing remains but studs.

Regardless of the type of scene, the final step in any clean-up is disposing of the evidence (unless the owners of the apartment or house have contracted the cleaners to do restoration work as well). This is actually a more complicated task than it may seem. You can’t put hazardous or bio hazardous waste in regular trash dump. Crime-scene cleaners need a special permit to transport it. To dispose of it, in the case of the blood and gore they have to pay (typically by the pound) to burn it in a medical-waste incinerator. Some incinerators have minimum amounts they’ll burn, so the cleaning company might have to pay to store the refuse in a sealed, refrigerated area until they’ve collected the minimum amount. In the case of poisonous chemical waste, you can only dump it in special areas not accessible to the public, which costs additional cash. Transporting and disposing of waste can be a big percentage of a clean-up bill.

The laundry list of poisons used to make street-grade methamphetamine (including acetone, methanol, ammonia, benzene, iodine and hydrochloric acid) leaves a toxic residue that coats and infuses every surface and stays in the air. Most of these poisonous substances are absorbed through the skin, making a meth lab one of the most dangerous places a person can walk into. Exposure to a meth lab can cause reproductive disorders, birth defects, blindness, lung damage, liver damage and kidney damage, and that’s just for starters. The scene remains toxic indefinitely unless it’s properly cleaned — an apartment that housed a meth lab can make its tenants sick a decade after the lab has been removed.

Proper clean-up of a meth lab involves disposing of everything porous and everything that can’t be submerged in detoxification chemicals (several times). Crime-scene cleaners get rid of all furniture, cabinetry, light fixtures, carpeting and electronics … basically everything that isn’t part of the structure. And in the worst cases, they also dispose of most of the structure — they sometimes have to pull up all of the flooring and gut the walls, removing all of the drywall until nothing remains but studs.

Regardless of the type of scene, the final step in any clean-up is disposing of the evidence (unless the owners of the apartment or house have contracted the cleaners to do restoration work as well). This is actually a more complicated task than it may seem. You can’t put hazardous or bio hazardous waste in regular trash dump. Crime-scene cleaners need a special permit to transport it. To dispose of it, in the case of the blood and gore they have to pay (typically by the pound) to burn it in a medical-waste incinerator. Some incinerators have minimum amounts they’ll burn, so the cleaning company might have to pay to store the refuse in a sealed, refrigerated area until they’ve collected the minimum amount. In the case of poisonous chemical waste, you can only dump it in special areas not accessible to the public, which costs additional cash. Transporting and disposing of waste can be a big percentage of a clean-up bill.

• Blood borne Pathogens are blood, all body fluids and fecal matter.
• All of these pathogens can be very life threatening if not handled properly.
• You can be at risk of being infected by Hepatitis B virus (HBV), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), E coli, TB, and other diseases.
• Ohio Bio is highly trained in the cleanup and removal of infectious/biohazardous wastes
• If a contaminated scene is NOT properly cleaned up by a professional company, there is still a risk of blood borne pathogens being present after the public has tried to clean it up themselves.

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OSHA’s Federal Regulation 29CFR1910.1030 states that no employer can expose an employee to cleaning blood without first providing:

1. Blood borne pathogen training
2. A written exposure control plan
3. Personal protective equipment
4. The opportunity to receive the Hepatitis B vaccine, exposure evaluation and follow up
5. A method to remove and properly store and dispose of the bio-hazardous waste

Non-compliance with 29CFR1910.1030 has resulted in OSHA fines ranging from $7,000 to $70,000.