Dangerous Chemicals

Clandestine drug labs conjure up a vivid image in the minds of most firefighters: a room full of dangerous chemicals, complicated scientific glassware, and a cook or two who barely know what they are doing. The truth sometimes lives up to this caricature, but often it does not. Many labs are, but more often are not, discovered after extinguishment of a seemingly “routine” structure fire. The cooks are long gone. The chemicals have been all but consumed in the fire. All that remains are the charred remnants of the glassware and equipment.

RECOGNITION AND INITIAL RESPONSE

Early recognition of the presence of an illicit lab is very important to prevent injuries to first responders. Signs of a “clan” lab include strange chemicals (such as an unusual accumulation of chemicals in a bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen); unusual glassware or equipment (such as laboratory glassware and equipment, stills, or pipe assemblies); an unusual amount or intensity of fire for the building load; and unusual patient signs and symptoms (such as corrosive skin burns or severe inhalation injuries).

The most common type of clan lab is an illicit drug laboratory such as methamphetamine or, increasingly more common, the hash oil lab. The type and abundance of these labs vary widely across the United States and Canada. For example, with the legalization of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington, hash oil laboratories have become more common in these states. The most dangerous of the hash oil labs is the butane hash oil extraction (BHO) lab. Let’s take a look at each of these in turn.

IN THE LAB

Methamphetamine labs come in three primary flavors: red P/iodine, anhydrous ammonia/lithium, and the one pot. The red P/iodine method uses heat, typically in the form of a reflux reaction, to produce methamphetamine over several hours. The reflux reactor, or reaction flask, can be considered a pot of stew cooking on the stove with a lid on it. In this case, the “stew” is a highly acidic mixture. Scientific glassware uses a condenser as a very efficient lid and the water stays in the pot a long time. Homemade reaction flasks and lids vary in their efficiency. The greatest danger of the red P/iodine method is that when the water evaporates the red phosphorous in the reaction mixture heats up and forms highly toxic phosphine gas.

The anhydrous ammonia/lithium method uses a solution of anhydrous ammonia and lithium metal (typically extracted from batteries) to produce meth oil in an alkaline solution. The greatest danger of this method is the highly toxic, corrosive, and flammable ammonia gas. Many first responders have suffered severe inhalation injuries from the sudden and unexpected release of ammonia from unapproved containers such as plastic coolers. Ammonia is dangerous when it is acquired (stolen), transported (in unapproved containers), used to make the meth, and disposed of (improperly).

The one pot method may at first appear deceptively innocuous since it usually just consists of a single small container, such as a two-liter soda bottle. However, this is far from the truth. Improper mixing of reagents can lead to dangerous explosions. The container must be vented periodically, or burped, to release internal pressure. The container can explode if not burped properly, and paradoxically the burping process itself can lead to flash fires because flammable gases are generated during the chemical reaction. Be very cautious of distended plastic containers and be wary of any sealed containers that could contain an active chemical reaction.

Hash oil production has become much more prevalent over the years, first with the advent of medical marijuana and now much more so with the legalization at the state level of recreational marijuana in Colorado and Washington. Hash oil labs can be extremely dangerous because of their use of butane as an extraction solvent. Butane is a highly flammable solvent that boils at 30ºF (-1ºC). In other words, at the temperature at which water freezes, butane is already boiling. Butane vapors therefore tend to spread rapidly and will find ignition sources, even at a distance, unless sufficient ventilation is maintained–which more often than not isn’t.

Explosive labs, although less common than drug labs, pose a significant hazard to first responders because of their inherent chemical reactivity. Unfortunately, explosives are comparatively easy to make with common household and industrial chemicals. Recipes are widely available on the Internet and often the young and curious will experiment; other times, individuals have more sinister intentions and plan to use the explosives in a criminal manner. Explosives manufacturing generally requires fuels such as acetone, ethylene glycol, sugars, or nitromethane and oxidizers such as hydrogen peroxide, chlorate or perchlorate salts, nitric acid, or sulfuric acid. The chemical reactions that create explosives release heat. Therefore, the reaction vessel must be kept cool using an ice bath, refrigeration, or some other way to keep the reaction mixture cool. The presence of fuels and oxidizers as well as chemical reaction systems and equipment designed to add reagents slowly and keep them cool are hallmarks of an explosives lab.

HANDLING HAZMAT CONDITIONS

Illicit labs are often discovered during “routine” calls. The presence of a lab should rarely if ever preclude the completion of lifesaving and other high-priority incident stabilization tasks. The hazards and risks the lab poses must be evaluated and addressed, but in the vast majority of cases these risks are comparatively small, usually less than the original emergency we were called to.

First-due engine companies now often carry basic gas detection technology like a multi-gas detector containing sensors such as a combustible gas indicator, oxygen sensor, and one or more toxic gas sensors for gases like carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide. Adding pH paper to the mix makes an effective illicit lab hazard assessment tool suite. Once it is determined that the lab or the remains of the lab are stable, the area can be isolated and high priority tasks can be completed rapidly and safely using proper personal protective equipment (PPE) and basic air monitoring equipment. The most critical piece of PPE is respiratory protection, a self-contained breathing apparatus being optimal. Most first responder injuries at illicit labs occur through inhalation.

After high priority lifesaving and incident stabilization tasks have been completed, it is vital that the proper notifications are made as quickly as possible and the area is isolated until the experts arrive. Knowing who to call should be straightforward for the first responder because of preplanning, interagency coordination, and training. A local drug task force, a state meth team, or the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) may be first line notifications for suspected drug labs. For suspected explosives labs, the local or state bomb squad or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) should be in line for notification. A chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear clan lab will require notification of the FBI through the regional weapons of mass destruction (WMD) coordinator and early involvement of the state Civil Support Team (WMD-CST). These agencies should already be aware of their status, and first responders should have immediate access to their contact information. If you don’t know who to contact, now is the best time to find out!

The area should be isolated as quickly as possible for two primary reasons: safety of responders and the public, and evidence preservation. Responders should avoid the clan lab area as much as possible while performing essential tasks and then leave the area and secure it until the appropriate experts arrive. This will maximize the likelihood that evidence will be preserved and suspects can be found, arrested, and prosecuted.

THE EXTENT OF THE PROBLEM

More and more fire departments are starting to take a proactive approach to the drug lab problem. Resources have become scarce, and sitting on a suspected clan lab for hours on end while the state meth team (which may not even exist anymore) responds is just not an option. Hazardous materials response teams exist in most communities, and they tend to be underutilized resources. They already have the equipment to investigate these labs safely and effectively; all they really need is the appropriate training and knowledge to successfully respond, investigate, render safe, and secure the scene for the appropriate response agency, whether that be the local or state meth team or bomb squad, DEA, ATF, FBI, or WMD-CST.

Haz-mat response teams have many tools at their disposal for identifying unknown chemicals and determining what hazards exist in the illicit laboratory environment. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman technology can be used to identify unlabeled containers of relatively pure materials. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), a tool that has become much more field user friendly over the past couple of years, can be used to detect the presence of low-level drug and explosive residue in waste streams and reaction mixtures left at abandoned or actively operating labs respectively.

Often the leftover precursors and final product have been removed from the lab and authorities are notified of the lab by the legitimate property owner after tenants have moved out or a vacant property is inspected. The cooks tend to leave their waste materials behind. These usually contain valuable evidence as to the type of lab that was present. The waste stream typically contains low levels of the final product and possibly higher levels of reagents that were mistakenly added in excess. These folks typically are not chemists and just throw these reactions together to the best of their ability.

GC-MS is a vital tool in the analysis of these waste streams because it has the capability to separate complex mixtures into individual components and identify these at levels as low as parts per billion. At a recent red P/iodine meth lab to which I responded, all of the abandoned containers, including pill press waste, reaction mixture waste, solvent extraction waste, and spilled solid and liquid materials, could be identified using FTIR, Raman, and GC-MS technology. Until recently, this level of field identification was unimaginable.

RESPONDER TRAINING

Given the omnipresence of clan labs, first responders should be trained to recognize the presence of labs at routine calls, utilize appropriate safety equipment such as air monitoring and PPE, complete high-priority lifesaving and incident stabilization tasks safely and quickly, then leave the area, isolate the area, and notify the experts according to their standard operating procedures and preplanning. Illicit labs will not be the cause of incident paralysis with proper preplanning and training.