Meth Homes / Meth Labs

Meth, or methamphetamine, is a class A drug, and a class II stimulant. The key ingredient in making meth is pseudoephedrine, often found in cold medicine, however dangerous and deadly chemicals such as battery acid, drain cleaner, lantern fuel and antifreeze are used in the making of meth. Meth is often cooked in crude and unstable laboratories, in cars, houses, or hotel rooms. During the production of meth, a property can become contaminated with hazardous chemicals, and there is a strong risk of fire or explosion.

The Chemicals present in meth labs fall into three main categories: solvents, metals and salts, and corrosives (strong acids or bases). Solvents and corrosives may be gases or liquids. Because of this they are considered the greatest risk for inhalation exposure. Some of the well known solvents and corrosives found in meth labs are Ammonia, Benzyl Chloride, Acetone, and Benzene. Unless present in fine powders that become airborne, the chemicals that are in solid form, such as Lead Acetate, present little inhalation risk. Inhalation and absorption through the skin are the most common way that people are exposed to these common meth lab chemicals.

When meth is being cooked vapors from the chemicals often cling to the ceiling and seep through the walls into the drywall. While still in working operation there is a high risk for exposure to harmful chemicals in meth labs. However, after the meth lab is seized, and even after cleanup, there can be the potential for chronic exposure to many harmful chemicals. Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOC’s, found as vapors may cause symptoms such as nose and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion and breathing difficulties. However, exposure to VOC’s, and other present chemicals, in meth labs can cause symptoms as severe as cancer, damage to the brain, liver and kidneys, birth defects, and reproductive issues.

Other than the chemicals readily present during and after cooking meth, laboratories also create a lot of toxic waste. According to the state of Oregon Division of Public Health, one pound of meth produces five to seven pounds of waste. This off product is often disposed of in an illegal manner and can sit inside, or outside, of a meth lab. Often, the liquid waste is dumped down drains, which leads to public water sewers. Also, contamination of soil and ground water can occur. People exposed to this waste, including neighbors, can become sick or poisoned from it. Also, the cooking process of methamphetamines creates a highly flammable situation, and can induce explosions.

Once a meth lab is cleaned up, and is in regulation according to the state, the property can be inhabited. However, just because the property has been clean up, there can be residual toxins. Over long periods of time, chronic exposures to these chemicals can occur. Also, in about half of the states, full disclosure of a meth lab is not required by the realtor, even though there are ordinates in place about cleanup and notification in most states. Also, a majority of the states keep lists and records of former meth lab locations.

 

                                 Meth Labs and Incidents in the United States - 2012- US DEA

                                               Chemicals used to make methamphetamine

                                                     Meth pipe and methamphetamine

                                                               Meth lab cleanup

                                                               Meth lab cleanup

http://www.justice.gov/dea/clan-lab/oh.pdf

http://www.drugfreeworld.org/drugfacts/crystalmeth/what-is-meth-made-from.html

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/meth-labs.htm

http://methlabhomes.com/how-meth-labs-can-effect-your-health/

https://public.health.oregon.gov/HealthyEnvironments/EnvironmentalExposures/HazardousSites/ClandestineDrugLabs/Pages/chemicals.aspx

Epi-Genetics

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

The ailment known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is a controversial illness which is said to affect, in some way, between 2% and 10% of people. The most commonly affected people are from the ages of 30 to 50, and more women than men claim to have MCS. The USEPA says that about 1/3 of all people who work in a sealed building are affected and have symptoms of this ailment. MCS also has been referred to as environmental hypersensitivity, idiopathic environmental intolerance, sick building syndrome and environmental illness. There are almost endless symptoms for MCS, and it is arguably the only illness which the patient must both identify the cause and the symptoms of the condition. The symptoms of MCS generally fall in one or all of three categories: central nervous system symptoms, respiratory and mucosal irritation, or gastrointestinal problems. That means that a symptom can be anything from a headache, irritability, nasal congestion, or a sore throat to changes in heart rhythm, breathing problems and memory loss. With such a wide range of possible symptoms, it is almost impossible for medical professionals to diagnose Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

Currently some of the leading medical institutes, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, do not consider MCS to be a physical disorder. The lack of adequate research done on MCS is one of the reasons which it is not recognized. Also, unlike an allergic reaction, people with MCS do not develop antibodies, or any traceable immune response, to their chemical irritants. This makes medically pinpointing a cause extremely difficult. According to the Cleveland Clinic, patients with MCS have a high rate of mental disorder, more specifically depression, anxiety and somatoform disorders (a mental illness that causes physical symptoms). It is said that 50% of all people with MCS also fit the standards for depression and anxiety. It is currently unknown whether this relationship is causational.

In 1997, a study completed by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, part of the National Institute of Health, was done which had successful outcomes to reduce the symptoms of MCS. The treatment was done using psychological desensitization and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI). Though this study treated symptoms of MCS, it appears to only have treated the mental component of MCS, reducing the anxiety of chemical exposure. Other treatments which are used for MCS are chemical avoidance, nutrient therapy, sauna therapy and detoxification. Chemical avoidance is simply eliminating exposure to chemicals which prove to cause negative reactions. Chemical avoidance is the most effective treatment for MCS. It includes chemical free households as well as chemical free alternatives to daily necessities. Nutrient therapy is based around the concept that people with MCS often do not absorb the needed nutrients, causing certain symptoms. Nutrient therapy allows replacement of needed nutrients as well as decreasing the amount of nitric oxide in the body. Sauna therapy and detoxification aims at reducing heavy metals and other chemicals stored in fat cells. This may be done by way of sauna, sweating out toxins, or chelating therapy.

Because of the same reasons which MCS is not considered a physical disorder, it is extremely to measure the outcomes of treatments for Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. The only way, at the moment, to relieve symptoms of MCS is chemical avoidance. Even though other treatments may have successful outcomes for some, it is not guaranteed to work for every case of MCS.

People who suffer from MCS are like "Canaries in a mine". 

 They can sense chemicals in very small, usually unnoticeable, doses.

http://mcs-america.org/index_files/mcsmedicaltreatment.htm

http://www.psychosomaticsjournal.com/article/S0033-3182(98)71289-7/abstract

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23947742

https://www.osha.gov/SLTC/multiplechemicalsensitivities/

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/multiple_chemical_sensitivity/hic_multiple_chemical_sensitivity_fact_or_fiction.aspx

National Institute of Health - ClinicalTrials.gov

Clinical studies are a necessity to aid in medical knowledge. Unlike much of the leg work that will preface clinical studies, once a chemical, medicine, or device gets to the stage of clinical study, human subjects are involved. There are two main types of clinical studies: interventional studies, known as clinical trials, and observational studies. A complete list of both types of clinical studies can be found at clinicaltrials.gov, a website associated with the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) came about in 1887 as part of the Marine Hospital Service, which was created to provide relief for seamen who were suffering from disease or disability. Originally, the Marine Hospital Service was located on Staten Island and was charged with the responsibility to check all incoming persons for infectious diseases, mainly cholera and yellow fever. It wasn’t until 1891 that the headquarters of the NIH moved to Washington D.C. Currently the NIH headquarters stands in Bethesda, Maryland. The NIH is made up of twenty seven institutes and centers. These include the National Cancer Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute as well as National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. In general, the National Institute of Health strives to improve general health, ensure the nation's capability to prevent disease, expand the knowledge of medicine and science, and to promote scientific integrity.

The NIH is the leading organization behind much of the recent medical research, and the largest source of medical funding in the world. Currently, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, one of the institutes under the NIH, is running clinical studies on a vaccine for Ebola. Also, a NIH funded scientist, Pardis Sabeti, used genomic sequencing to identify the event which originally transmitted Ebola from an animal to human, starting the outbreak in West Africa. It was found by Dr. Sabeti that the strain responsible for the 2014 outbreak can be traced backed to the 2004 Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. The NIH also encompasses the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) which is the leading scientific group behind much of the nation’s biodefense’s. The NIAID works with many other NIH institutes in order to keep the nation safe and citizens healthy.

The clinical study surrounding the Ebola vaccine is one of the types of studies that would be found on clinicaltrials.gov. Once on the website, a visitor can search all studies on a worldwide level. Searches can be done for studies by country, using an interactive map, which shows the number of clinical studies in each country, or using a general search engine. The status of the trial is stated, allowing results to be seen if applicable, as well as allowing a visitor to potentially join a clinical study if possible. Clinicaltrials.gov not only focuses on studies being held in the United States, but as well as worldwide studies and studies specific to other countries. Currently, this site has information on 174,156 studies with locations in all 50 states and in 187 countries.

National Institute of Health - Main Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland

National Institute of Health - Labs

http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/home

http://www.nih.gov/