Clandestine Laboratory Context and Overview

John Howell – Senior Scientist Environmental Health Directorate

Presentation Content

Purpose Clandestine laboratory (clan lab) nature, risk &

occurrence WA Health involvement Character of WA clan labs Q & A

Purpose

To inform responsible agency officers, in particular LG EHOs, about the occurrence and character of clandestine drug laboratories (clan labs)

What is a clan lab?

Hidden improvised laboratories manufacturing illegal drugs often from publically available source materials

Why the public health concern?

People involved with an operational lab are at risk from toxic gases, surface residues & fires/explosions

“Busted” labs – WAPOL/ChemCentre remove bulk chemicals & equipment.

But residual chemical contamination are a risk to current & future residents, especially children, possibly for years

Residues are usually meth deposited from an aerosol arising from heating or bubbling processes

Maybe only 1 in 10 labs are found!

Clan lab occurrence

Local manufacture, ie a clan lab, is an attractive drug source, particularly if border controls are strong & raw materials available

The variety of possible production routes combined with internet information make prevention difficult

Numbers have increased greatly in Western countries led by the US

Have proliferated nationally over last 5 years, especially in Qld & WA metro & growth areas, possibly because of economic boom National Guidelines - 2011

Clan Lab Management in WA

DOH involvement prompted by: Surge of clan lab activity Public health significance (Health Act 1911)

LG EHO assistance requests Local expertise (Paul Newell, DER)

Basic Guidance 2010; Steering Group Interim Guidelines Oct 2012

Include: - Notification system

- Assessment & clean-up guidance

- Database and advice service

Information Sources

Clan Labs in Western Australia

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Year

Cla

n La

b N

umbe

rs

WA-Wide Clan Lab Occurrence (Sep 2012 – Aug 2013)

Perth Area Clan Lab Occurrence (Sep 2012 – Aug 2013)

State/ Territory

ATS(ex MDMA)

MDMA PSE/ephedrineextraction

Other/unknown

Total(2010/11)

Total Hypo*phos

Red*phos

Nazi/*Birch

P2P*

QLD 241 (201) (38) (0) (2) 0 3 137 381 (296)

WA 156 (0) (6) (149) (0) 0 0 7 163 (171)

NSW 75 (62) (0) (2) (2) 2 0 13 90 (88)

VIC 58 (39) (7) (2) (9) 0 7 33 98 (63)

SA 49 (39) (6) (0) (2) 1 1 10 61 (75)

TAS 11 (6) (0) (4) (1) 0 1 15 27 (11)

NT 7 (7) (0) (0) (0) 1 2 1 11 (2)

ACT 0 (0) (0) (0) (0) 0 1 0 1 (1)

Total 597 (354) (57) (157) (16) 2 17 216 832^ (707)

Total 2010/11

556 (282) (36) (183) (17) 16 34 101 (707^)

Table 2– Detected Clan Labs by Drug, Production Type, Jurisdiction 2011 -12#

Other features of WA labs (Sep 2012 – Aug 2013)

The predominant Nazi/Birch method is user based (small scale) & less contaminating

> 60% labs in residences, with recent increase in bush sites 40% residential labs had children present (average 2) 16% residential labs were Dept Housing properties 10% of labs discovered due to fire/explosion Large proportion of houses were rental properties Sites also include bush, vacant land, caravans, vehicles,

hotel/motel 25% of the clan labs were of the higher Tier 2 risk rating

Bush Lab Site

Questions and Comments