This paper examines the serious hazards that clandestine drug laboratories — most commonly methamphetamine labs — present to firefighters and other first responders. It discusses where clan labs are found, the toxic and explosive chemicals used in drug production, and the dangerous levels of hazardous byproducts generated. Drawing on real incident reports from multiple states and a controlled study conducted by the Colorado Springs Police Department, the paper outlines the spectrum of threats responders face, including chemical burns, explosions, concealed weapons, and booby-traps. It concludes with a summary of recommended hazmat protocols designed to protect personnel responding to these unpredictable and life-threatening scenes.
Hidden, or clandestine, drug labs are located and discovered in all 50 states. These "clan" labs may be found in rented storage units, apartments, motel rooms, homes — and not always in the worst neighborhoods — as well as in mobile homes, boats, and even outdoors in remote forest areas. They are everywhere.
When a drug lab is discovered, police, the DEA, and the fire department remove all chemicals and equipment. There is always, unfortunately, residual contamination due to the nature of the hazardous and toxic chemicals involved and their ability to infiltrate countertops, floor coverings, furniture, draperies, and similar surfaces. The chemicals can also invade the air ducts of a facility. Worse still, new occupants will not necessarily be aware of that contamination (IDEM, n.d.).
The first thing first responders such as police and fire service personnel must accomplish is to clean up the scene. Usually, the first step in doing so is to contact environmental hazard experts. It is clear that proper preparation and planning are essential to fire service safety when responding to any clan lab drug operation.
Methamphetamine is not the only drug manufactured in clandestine drug labs. Ecstasy, LSD, PCP, and amphetamines are among the others, but "meth" is the drug home-produced in up to 90% of clandestine labs (Scott & Dedel, 2006). The DEA reports that approximately 500 pounds of methamphetamine were seized in 1986, while over 4,000 pounds were seized through September 2005 (Watson, 2006).
Amphetamine generically refers to any member of a class of drugs with an amphetamine base. Methamphetamine is a stimulant that can be snorted, smoked, taken orally, or injected. It is the most common illicit amphetamine and also the most commonly synthesized controlled substance (IDEM, n.d.).
The main problem is that illegal operators of clan drug labs typically "cook" drugs in the most disorganized, random, and dangerous manner possible. A significant number of those who run these labs regularly end up dead from explosions, fire, or exposure to the very toxic substances they handle — exposing their family members to the same dangers. Experts estimate that for each pound of illicit drugs produced, approximately five to six pounds of hazardous waste are generated — nearly all of it disposed of illegally in ways that endanger the general public. When fire department hazardous waste experts arrive on scene, they often have no way of knowing precisely what types of chemicals were used at any given location (Watson, 2006).
The following incidents illustrate the range of dangers first responders face when encountering clandestine drug labs (Peterson, n.d.):
Oregon: In February 1999, a firefighter was exposed to hydrochloric acid and sustained chemical burns at a fire involving a methamphetamine lab. After the fire was extinguished, drug manufacturing equipment was found inside the residential laboratory. The firefighter was wearing turnout gear at the time of exposure and was decontaminated on site before being treated and released at a local hospital.
Wisconsin: A meth lab was discovered in Grant County in March 2000 by the Southwestern Wisconsin Meth Task Force. While no responders were injured, the local hazmat team donned protective clothing and searched the country house for hazards requiring containment. Many chemicals were found on-site, and the operator had been cooking drugs in nearly every room and the basement of the residence. The site was so heavily contaminated with chemical residue that it had to be razed.
Missouri: A fast-moving fire with multiple explosions caused by a faulty electrical strip killed three children and injured three others. A meth lab was discovered in a back room, and authorities had been aware of drug activity in the apartment prior to the fire (Peterson, n.d.).
As of 2005, approximately 10,000 labs had been seized in the U.S. by the DEA and local law enforcement (efilmgroup, 2009). One emergency management professional teaching courses in Clandestine Drug Labs Awareness and Terrorism/WMD Response noted: "Several firefighters and police officers have been injured responding to clandestine drug labs over the past few years. Fortunately, no responders have been killed locally, but around the country every year several first responders are injured or die from job-related exposures to these labs" (efilmgroup, 2009).
The fire department is often at the forefront of the risk because a significant number of clan lab calls come in as explosions or fires — meaning the fire service frequently does not know what they are facing. Calls may report a need for medical aid, an injured person, a structure fire, a trash fire, suspicious smoke, a strange odor, or illegal dumping. The actual substance involved could be fatally toxic to anyone who first encounters it. The chemicals commonly found at these sites include acetone, methanol, benzene, ether, hydriodic acid, muriatic acid, sodium hydroxide, and many others — all available over the counter in various forms of household products.
"Colorado Springs study on chemical exposure levels"
"Non-chemical dangers including traps and guard animals"
"Recommended hazmat procedures for clan lab response"
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