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Regarding a meth lab, I see on the web site that you would notice a smell, gas smell. I have noticed different smells around my home, I thought myself, or my neighbors may have a gas leak. My husband walked to the neighbors around us, to check everyones meters, but all were fine. I did not notice the smell again until today. Everyone I have spoke to said, if you smell a meth lab, you will never forget the smell. If you have never smelled one, how would you know the smell? Meth labs have a strong amonia or rotten egg odor. If you have an odor you can't identify that may be a gas leak or meth lab, contact your local fire dept and report it. They will come out and investigate the odor in most cases |
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How do I check to see if my house was a meth lab on this web site? Take a look at the Meth
Lab Locations section. There are two options to search for an
address. You can look at the Lab investigations files or you can
search the Adams County Assessor's database. |
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Where can I find a cleanup company? We have a list of companies on the
Meth Lab Locations
page. Click on the "Cleanup and Decontamination Companies"
link. The companies are listed alphabetically by name, and the Notes
column describes the type of cleanup that they do. |
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Why are we only seeing Meth busts in the North Metro Area? Methamphetamine is a national crisis, and for the North Metro Task
Force, it's a priority. The Task Force is directly involving the
media so the community is aware of what's going. |
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What is a clandestine lab? A clandestine laboratory is simply defined as a place where preparation of illegal substances takes place. These 'labs' are used to manufacture drugs, explosives and even biological or chemical weapons. Most often, the labs are used to manufacture methamphetamine, a potent illegal stimulant drug. |
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What hazards exist in a clandestine lab? Since the activity in these labs is illegal, they are usually designed for ease of concealment of the activity and not for safety. Often, the persons running the lab have little or no formal education in chemistry. Numerous hazards exist in this environment including potential toxicities from the chemicals and gases produced, fires, explosions and chemical and thermal burns. Children living in a lab are at heightened risk for physical, psychological and sexual abuse as well as possible exposure to methamphetamine or dangerous chemicals, booby traps, violence, weapons and pornography. |
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What chemicals are likely to be present in a clandestine lab?
This question must be answered with some caution. The chemicals commonly used to manufacture methamphetamine are well known. However, this does not mean that only these chemicals are present in a clandestine lab. Since the activity of making methamphetamine is illegal, the chemicals and equipment may be obtained through theft from legitimate scientific laboratories or suppliers. In these circumstances, the manufacturer may steal many things not required in the actual manufacture of methamphetamine. Furthermore, a great deal of misinformation is available, particularly on the internet, which may mislead a cook into thinking a given chemical compound may be useful. Additionally, the cook may lack the scientific sophistication to distinguish between similar sounding chemical names. Finally, there may be more than one clandestine activity taking place in the lab in addition to the preparation of methamphetamine. That said, a wide variety of caustics / corrosives (e.g. NaOH and HCl), solvents (e.g. naphtha and ether), and respiratory irritants (e.g. ammonia) are commonly present in illicit methamphetamine labs. |
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What data are available regarding the long-term health effects
of these chemicals? Though long-term effects of some chemicals are known primarily from industrial settings, many other chemicals are not as well studied. Within the specific context of clandestine methamphetamine labs, chemicals may be mixed or stored inappropriately. A limited number of reports have been published examining acute health effects of chemical exposure in methamphetamine laboratories in emergency response personnel. No studies involving long-term effects of continuous clandestine laboratory exposure exist. Currently, no prospectively collected data exist describing the effects of acute or chronic exposure of children to illicit methamphetamine labs. |
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What is meant by the term "decontamination" in reference
to persons removed from a clandestine laboratory, why is it necessary
and when should decontamination be performed? "Decontamination" simply means thoroughly washing in order to remove any potentially harmful residue from persons removed from a hazardous site. Decontamination is necessary to protect the individual from continued exposure as well as to prevent possible secondary contamination of other persons, equipment and facilities with which a contaminated individual might come in contact. All persons removed from a clandestine lab should be properly decontaminated and dressed in clean clothing prior to any additional questioning or evaluation. Decontamination is necessary regardless of the age of the person removed from the lab and whether or not the lab was in use at the time of removal. |
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How should a person removed from a clandestine laboratory be
decontaminated? The answer to this question depends entirely upon the exposure history of the involved persons. For example, a police officer involved in warrant service in a lab may only need decontamination of his/her boots with a soap and water solution. An adult suspect removed from a lab must have all clothing removed and be thoroughly washed with soap and water, typically using portable warm water and then dried and dressed in clean clothing such as a jail jumpsuit. The best recommendation for a child is to have a facility such as a tent or camper available at the scene in which the child can be given a warm shower and then dressed in age and gender appropriate clothing to minimize the psychological impact of the decontamination process. Decisions regarding specifics of decontamination are most appropriately made by trained HAZMAT personnel. |
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When should someone removed from a clandestine laboratory be
medically evaluated? All symptomatic persons should be evaluated by medical personnel immediately upon decontamination. Asymptomatic adults may not require medical intervention. It is recommended that all children removed from clandestine labs be evaluated by a qualified practitioner that can do a complete pediatric evaluation within 24 hours of removal from the lab. Medical evaluation of children removed from illicit labs is described in greater at http://www.colodec.org. |