Illegal Drug Lab Cleanup
- Inspection – inspections of buildings by state of Indiana qualified inspector
- Most common drug lab is methamphetamine “meth”
- All the processes that produce meth use a variety of common chemicals, in many cases by-products that are hazardous
- Many risks of exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals, without proper cleanup
Methamphetamine, also known as “ice”, “speed” or “crank”, is a potent central nervous system stimulant. The drug is illegally produced in makeshift labs. All of the processes that produce methamphetamine (commonly known as ‘meth’) use a variety of chemicals including explosives, solvents, metals, salts, and corrosives.
When they seize a drug lab, law enforcement agencies remove bulk chemicals and drug making equipment from the site. However, residual contamination often remains because the hazardous chemicals that are used when manufacturing these drugs can contaminate the property.
Without proper cleaning, the risk of exposure to potentially dangerous chemicals is likely. New occupants moving into former drug labs may be unaware of the contamination problem.
Alliance has a qualified inspector to assist in cleaning up illegal drug labs.
KIDS AT RISK
The number of children in the United States that are exposed to toxic chemicals from methamphetamine labs being operated in or near their homes is increasing. These children are also at risk of bring abused or neglected by the parents, or others who operate these labs. The number of children found at seized methamphetamine laboratory sites in the United States has more than doubled.
Meth labs contain toxic chemicals and waste. Children who live in homes with laboratories inhale dangerous chemical fumes or gases and ingest toxic chemicals or drugs. Exposure to these substances can cause serious health problems including damage to the brain, liver, kidneys, lungs, eyes, and skin. Children whose parents abuse methamphetamine are likely to develop emotional and behavioral problems.
MYTH’S ABOUT DRUG TREATMENTS
Myth #1: Drug addiction is voluntary behavior.
A person starts out as an occasional drug user, and that is a voluntary decision. But as times passes, something happens, and that person goes from being a voluntary drug user to being a compulsive drug user. Why? Because over time, continued use of addictive drugs changes your brain — at times in dramatic, toxic ways, at others in more subtle ways, but virtually always in ways that result in compulsive and even uncontrollable drug use.
Myth #2: More than anything else, drug addiction is a character flaw.
Drug addiction is a brain disease. Every type of drug of abuse has its own individual mechanism for changing how the brain functions. But regardless of which drug a person is addicted to, many of the effects it has on the brain are similar: they range from changes in the molecules and cells that make up the brain, to mood changes, to changes in memory processes and in such motor skills as walking and talking. And these changes have a huge influence on all aspects of a person’s behavior. The drug becomes the single most powerful motivator in a drug abuser’s existence. He or she will do almost anything for the drug. This comes about because drug use has changed the individual’s brain and its functioning in critical ways.