[Insert your municipality here) Clan Lab Awareness Training

1
Insert your municipality here)Clan Lab
Awareness Training

• Awareness for identifying possible materials
  associated with clan labs

2
Clan Lab Awareness

• What is a Clan Lab?
• Clan lab is the short term for clandestine
  laboratory for illegal drug production. Most
  clan labs are associated with making
  methamphetamine or ecstasy but could be for LSD,
  GMB, crack cocaine or hash oil.

3
Clan Lab Awareness

• What health hazards are there for materials
  associated with clan labs?
• Most clan lab chemicals fall into three
  categories
• petroleum solvents
• acids
• bases (alkali /caustics).
• Petroleum solvents used are highly volatile and
  can evaporate quickly so that they can be
  inhalation hazard (dizziness) or fire hazard.
• The acids and caustics are in a liquid or solid
  form so there may be risks of chemical burns to
  the skin.
• Abandoned liquids may be mixtures of solvent and
  corrosive liquids.
• Mixing the different components can create toxic
  gases
• E.g. rock salt and sulfuric acid create hydrogen
  chloride gas
• The drugs themselves are present in trace
  quantities and do not pose a health risk to
  workers.

4
Clan lab wasteA combination of some or many of
these products is an indication of clan lab
activity

• Numerous pill bottles and packaging allergy
  medication with pseudoephedrine
• Solvent containers plastic or metal
• Either
• Acetone
• White gas, camping fuel
• Chloroform
• Methanol
• Isopropanol, rubbing alcohol
• Toluene, MEK, xylene, naptha
• Stained (red/ brown/ yellow/ orange) glassware,
  pots, plastic buckets, coolers (may have holes
  cut in them)
• Compressed gas cylinders of ammonia or propane
  (often badly corroded from holding ammonia)
• Numerous household consumer products
• Carburetor cleaner or engine starter (flammable
  solvent)
• Road flares (red phosphorus red staining)
• Drano crystals, Red devil lye (strong caustic
  alkaline corrosive)
• Car batteries, drain opener, root killer (strong
  acid)
• Rock salt (mixed with strong acid to produce
  toxic corrosive gas)
• Iodine (yellow or brown staining)
• Tile and grout cleaners (strong acids or strong
  alkaline corrosives)

5

• Round bottom flasks
• Ducting
• Plastic sheeting
• Heating plates
• Note Red staining from red phosphorus
• Staining may be yellow to brown orange from the
  use of iodine as well.
• Staining will be on equipment

6
Round bottomed flasks Heating plates Condensers
glass tube within a glass tube Tubing Hot
plate Note Red-brown staining on other items and
surfaces
7
Assorted laboratory glassware Separatory
funnels Flasks
8
Laboratory glassware Heating plate Note red
residue on condenser column
9
Clan Lab Awareness

• Minimum PPE
• Rubber, nitrile, or neoprene gloves. Discarded at
  end of work.
• Coveralls, immediately removed after task or
  contact and must be laundered before worn again
• If crews come across suspect liquid wastes
  (greater than 1 liter) they should call (insert
  appropriate contact here).