FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release No. SPR-08-603-02 

Melissa Hurley, (612) 743-7948, mhurley@aiha.org

Al Rickard, (703) 402-9713, arickard@associationvision.com

Alexandra Walsh, (301) 523-3318, awalsh@associationvision.com

AIHA and DEA Display Mock Drug Lab to Highlight Health and Safety Risks

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (June 3, 2008) — To highlight the growing health and safety risks from clandestine methamphetamine labs, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA), with the assistance of the Drug Enforcement Agency, built and displayed a mock meth lab at the American Industrial Hygiene Conference & Exposition (AIHce), June 2–4, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

On display were the household implements and chemicals commonly used to manufacture meth. Industrial hygienists – who test meth lab sites for contamination and recommend cleanup procedures – were on hand to explain the dangers. Although clan labs are generally equated with meth production, other substances such as PCP, ecstasy, and marijuana are also produced, and examples of the health and safety risks associated with the creation of these illegal substances will also be on display.

“Industrial hygienists are the guardians of health and safety in the workplace and among the public,” explained AIHA President Donald J. Hart, PhD, CIH. “This mock meth lab educated industrial hygienists who attended this meeting about how to safeguard the public by properly assessing health and safety risks from these labs.”

Police, firefighters, and other first responders on the front lines of the drug war also were invited to visit the mock meth lab to learn how to protect themselves when investigating suspected lab sites.

The meth threat in Minnesota is a two-pronged problem according to the DEA. Large quantities of meth produced by Mexican organizations based in California or Washington are transported into and distributed throughout the state. However, the second major source of meth in the state is coming from small local laboratories capable of producing only a few ounces at a time.

Nearly 12 million Americans have tried meth at least once, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report Methamphetamine Use, Abuse, and Dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004, published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“It is clear to us that the meth lab epidemic continues to pose a public health issue,” Hart added. “Response methods are improving, and we are understanding more about meth lab health and safety issues every day, but we are battling an insidious enemy that is hiding in our midst, using everyday materials to manufacture this highly addictive drug.”

Meth can be made almost anywhere: commercial buildings, houses, apartments, hotel rooms, trailers, barns, vans, and storage units. Although many labs are located in rural areas, meth labs can be found in urban and suburban areas.

The danger of fire and explosions is always present in meth lab operations. Even after they are dismantled, meth labs leave a toxic trail of chemical dust and vapors that can seep into adjacent spaces, including neighboring homes, apartments, and hotel rooms. Walls, floors, toys, furniture, ventilation systems, plumbing fixtures, septic systems, and surrounding soil can be contaminated and may require professional decontamination.

Among those at risk of exposure are real estate agents, landlords, property managers, prospective renters and home buyers, garbage collectors, utility workers, plumbers, social service agents, and first responders. Children living in the vicinity of a meth lab can be put at risk. In fact, thousands of illegal lab seizures each year involve children. Visitors or neighbors can be harmed by the poisonous fumes that vent from meth labs or from the toxic “cooking” debris that is sometimes buried outside or flushed into a septic system.

Respiratory problems, eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea are some of the symptoms of exposure to contamination from a former meth lab site.

AIHA recommends that anyone with concerns about potential meth lab exposure ask local law enforcement to run a criminal check on the property and to request documentation that the property was decontaminated professionally. AIHA offers a Consultants Listing of industrial hygienists that includes specialists in meth lab cleanup.

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EDITORS: AIHA can arrange interviews with experts on meth lab contamination and remediation. To arrange an interview, please call Al Rickard at (703) 402-9713 arickard@associationvision.com or Alexandra Walsh at (301) 523-3318 or awalsh@associationvision.com.

Founded in 1939, the American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) is the premier association of occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. AIHA’s 10,600 members play a crucial role on the front line of worker health and safety every day. Members represent a cross-section of industry, private business, labor, government, and academia. For more information, go to www.aiha.org.