Safety and Regulatory Factors of Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Clean-Up

摘要

According to the 2005 edition of Drugs of Abuse, published by the U.S. Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), clandestine laboratory production of methamphetamine and other substances continues to mushroom. Due to the ease of synthesis and potential for tremendous profits, methamphetamine laboratories are by far the most frequently encountered, clandestine laboratories in the United States. Historically operated by organized W West Coast trafficking groups, such as outlaw motorcycle or street gangs, within the past decade there has been a rapid eastward expansion of small clandestine laboratories into every state. This expansion of small "Mom-and-Pop" labs is occurring, even though large quantities of methamphetamine produced in "Super Labs" in Mexico are increasingly being smuggled into the U.S. Once located primarily in rural areas, clandestine labs may now be found in practically any neighborhood throughout the country, in practically any kind of structure, including houses, mobile homes, apartments, storage facilities, industrial parks, and hotels/motels. Labs are also increasingly mobile and have been discovered in the trunks of cars, trucks, trailers and even tractor-trailers. Methamphetamine is believed by some experts to be the most addictive drug available. Its effects are as physically and psychologically destructive to the user as they are ruinous to their families and their children. Methamphetamine users often engage in antisocial behaviors, including crime, domestic violence, and child neglect. Methamphetamine is made from over-the-counter cold medications containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine and common household chemicals available from most any hardware store. There are literally thousands of recipes and other types of information available through the internet. These chemicals may be extremely flammable, toxic or otherwise dangerous in their own right. Combined with the reckless practices of the typical untrained "cook" and other hazards associated with the manufacturing process, they have the potential to cause severe injury and death. Some estimates have one-in-every-five clandestine labs being discovered by fire departments responding to fires and/or explosions. A report by the Arizona Attorney General's Office states that the typical meth lab cooker produces about 50 batches of meth per year, each time creating the potential for an explosive reaction. Each pound of methamphetamine produced creates approximately six pounds of hazardous wastes. Unless discovered by authorities, these materials end up being dumped down drains or otherwise disposed of illegally.