Evaluation of Occupational Exposures to Illicit Drugs in Forensic Laboratories

Details

• Personal Author:
  Charles, Melissa ; Chiu, Sophia ; Li, Jessica F. ; Neu, Dylan T. ; Shi, Dallas S.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  Management at a state police agency requested a NIOSH health hazard evaluation because of concerns about potential occupational exposure to illicit drugs among employees working in the toxicology lab. Regional crime laboratory management agreed to include the regional crime laboratory in this health hazard evaluation because it was located near the state toxicology laboratory, separated by a shared hallway. We conducted a virtual site visit of the facility in March and April 2022 where we conducted a walkthrough of the facility, evaluated building ventilation with assistance from the law enforcement agency industrial hygienist, and held confidential medical interviews with employees by video conferencing. During our visit to the facility in June 2022, we tested toxicology laboratory forensic scientists' hands for exposures to methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin
  
  collected surface samples for methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin
  
  administered a written questionnaire
  
  reviewed relevant records and documents on the safety and health program, past cleaning activities, and laboratory surface sampling results completed prior to the visit
  
  and additional evaluation of ventilation systems. We found that employees reported no symptoms associated with acute exposure to methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, or heroin. However, we identified the potential for unintentional exposures to these and other substances on contaminated surfaces. Our ventilation evaluation found that there were some areas where air flowed from the laboratories into a shared hallway. We also found that personal protective equipment access, use, and training can be improved. We provided recommendations to assist both laboratories in minimizing exposure to these substances. These recommendations included changing workplace practices to reduce exposure risk, modifying building ventilation, and training employees on protocols to improve employee safety.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Air Movements Environmental Pollution Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air Flow Cocaine Drugs Environmental Contamination Fentanyl Forensic Laboratory Forensic Scientist Heroin Illicit Drug Laboratory Workers Law Enforcement Methamphetamine Occupational Exposure Opioid OSHA Region 9 Personal Protective Equipment Police Protection PPE Training Ventilation Equipment

  More +
• Source:
  Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, HHE 2021-0115-3388, 2023 Aug ; :1-48
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE202101153388
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Washington ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DFSE - Division of Field Studies and Engineering
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  48 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Booher, Donald E. ; Echt, Hannah ; Hamilton, Cheryl ; Moore, Kevin ; O'Connor, M. Colleen ; Roberts, Jennifer ; Watts, Shawna
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20068274
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2023]. Evaluation of occupational exposures to illicit drugs in forensic laboratories. ; By Li JF, Shi D, Neu DT, Chiu S, Charles M. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department of Health and ; Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational ; Safety and Health, Health Hazard Evaluation Report 2021-0115-3388,
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2023
• NORA Priority Area:
  Construction ; Services
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  922120 - Police Protection - (NAICS)
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:c81de114e80a7add93781e5e8f0ea1b4d58319c0977b4db7d680161b225c7fe1f2d3f1ff03deba9320ec3395d7b8b746d4e200fac19c05637c23822784904682
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172309/cdc_172309_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 700.56 KB ]