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NEWS: The Age - 18/11/07 'Suburban drug lab explosion fears'

hoptis

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Suburban drug lab explosion fears
Mark Russell
November 18, 2007

POLICE are warning that a proliferation of clandestine drug laboratories in suburban areas coupled with a sweltering summer forecast could lead to potentially fatal heat-activated explosions.

With demand for methamphetamines, such as ice and speed, at an all-time high due to a lack of heroin, the number of "clan labs" using highly noxious and flammable chemicals being set up across Victoria has soared in recent years.

So far this year police have busted 67 clan labs — three more than last year's total, but almost twice as many as 2005, when 36 drug production dens were detected and dismantled.

Detective Inspector Greg Bowd, head of the police clandestine laboratory squad, said it was unknown how many clan labs were operating across the state because they were so portable and easy to assemble.

Police are concerned that as summer approaches, secret clan labs set up in suburban houses and flats could explode on hot days.

Some chemicals used to cook up amphetamines can blow up if temperatures reach above 35 degrees. Last year, Melbourne recorded nine days above 35 degrees and meteorologists predict that this summer the city will average more than 12 days above 35 degrees.

Detective Bowd said that because many clan labs were assembled in backyard tin sheds or rooms without cooling or ventilation, the risk of an explosion increased as the weather became warmer.

He said the chemical hazards faced by his team of four specially trained crews when they discovered a clan lab included the risk of contact with flammable, poisonous, explosive, radioactive and corrosive substances that could be in solid, liquid or gas form.

Common risks include:

■ Asphyxiants (gases or vapours that deprive body tissue of oxygen).

■ Irritants (which cause temporary but sometimes severe inflammation of the eyes, skin or respiratory tract).

■ Corrosives (which cause irreversible tissue damage). Acids such as hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid are common in clan labs.

■ Sensitisers (which cause allergic reactions after repeated exposure; results range from skin rashes to severe reactions in the respiratory tract, causing wheezing).

■ Carcinogens (substances known to cause cancer).

■ Biological agents (often present during fires in clan labs or found in vehicles or places used to transport or store chemicals).

Detective Bowd said anyone who came into contact with a clan lab faced the same risks and the residual contamination could remain long after a site had been cleared. Every kilogram of methamphetamine, which has a street value of about $110,000, produces between six to eight kilograms of hazardous toxic waste.

"Drug manufacturers contaminate the environment, often dumping hazardous materials into drains, toilets, creeks, backyards, public bins or (they) bury them where they can seep into waterways," Detective Bowd said.

"There's a whole wide range of potential problems this causes that can impact on anyone in close vicinity to a clan lab. And that's why it's so important that we identify them, shut them down, remove them and charge the offenders.

"The people doing the amphetamine cooking often use a trial-and-error method and they don't know what they're getting themselves into. And it's gravely concerning that people would use these drugs made from these clandestine laboratories … it's incredible."

It is estimated that one in 10 Australians has tried methamphetamines, and despite drugs made in clan labs having just 10 per cent purity, there are more than 102,000 regular users.

Detective Bowd said signs of possible drug activity that neighbours should be on the lookout for included:

■ Strong or unpleasant odours, including a smell similar to cat urine or ammonia.

■ Blacked-out windows, window bars, dead-bolts and expensive alarm systems or other signs of unusual fortification.

■ Excessive empty containers of over-the-counter cold or allergy medicines.

■ Chemistry equipment such as flasks, beakers and rubber tubing.

■ Containers of mysterious liquids.

■ People regularly going outside to smoke cigarettes (because chemicals being used inside are so volatile).

The Age
 
Those last point forms were taking right off the poster in QLD Cop Shop Speed Lab posters.
 
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