Evaluation of Law Enforcement Officers’ Potential Occupational Exposure to Illicit Drugs — Virginia

Details

• Personal Author:
  Chiu, Sophia ; Hornsby-Myers, Jennifer ; Trout, Douglas B.
• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  In April 2018, a police department requested a health hazard evaluation (HHE) concerning unintentional occupational exposure to illicit drugs among police officers during a response to a 911 call concerning a person who reportedly had a drug overdose in a hotel room. Four police officers developed adverse health effects during the incident. We (1) met with officers directly involved with the incident and representatives of the police department command staff, (2) reviewed the department's work practices and procedures, and (3) reviewed relevant records. We found that three police officers were dispatched and a fourth officer at police headquarters handled materials from the hotel room. Officers saw drug paraphernalia and powders that appeared to be illicit drugs when entering the hotel room
  
  laboratory testing confirmed opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine, and cathinones ("bath salts"). The four officers performed a number of different job duties
  
  some of their work practices may have increased their risk of exposure. The officers were wearing short-sleeved uniforms, and they wore gloves and half-facepiece respirators with P100 filters during parts of the response. Potential routes of exposure for each officer remain unclear, but may have included inhalation and mucous membrane exposure. Health effects experienced by officers at the scene significantly interfered with their ability to carry out important work tasks. Naloxone was administered to one officer at the scene. We recommended developing policies and procedures specific to opioids (and other illicit drugs), continuing periodic training on how to prevent occupational exposure to illicit drugs, working with 911 dispatch coordinators to identify possible improvements in information gathering and communication before arriving at scenes where there might be illicit drugs, and encouraging officers to report possible exposures to and health effects resulting from exposure to illicit drugs to their supervisors.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Alkaloids Automobiles Emergency Responders Hazardous Substances Law Enforcement Narcotics Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Staff Development

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• Keywords:
  Analgesics Decontamination Drivers Drugs Emergency Treatment Employee Exposure Employee Health Exposure Assessment Fentanyl Forensic Medicine Hazardous Drugs Health Effects Heroin Illicit Drug Law Enforcement Law Enforcement Officer LEO Methamphetamine Motor Vehicles Opioid OSHA Region 3 Personal Protective Equipment Police Police Officers Police Protection PPE Recommendations Safety Education Safety Measures Safety Practices Standards Training Work Operations Work Practices

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• 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 2018-0113-3325, 2018 Sep ; :1-20
• Series:
  Health Hazard Evaluation Reports (HHE)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHHHE201801133325
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSHEFS - Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies ; EPRO - Emergency Preparedness and Response Office
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  26 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Tyrawski, Jennifer
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20052860
• Citation:
  NIOSH [2018]. Evaluation of law enforcement officer’s potential occupational exposure to illicit ; drugs — Virginia. By Chiu S, Hornsby-Myers J, Trout D. 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 2018-0113-3325,
• CAS Registry Number:
  Methamphetamine (CAS RN 537-46-2) ; Fentanyl (CAS RN 437-38-7)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• NORA Priority Area:
  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-512:3556d55aa789bc9115fdb7c426411698f2fc44c145f7e6acd4ec6bc6adea0fe6cf73df0fab0d506f9ce198221d46949a6c90b786e086ac3e09bcb8d0ef59fde4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/172348/cdc_172348_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 395.58 KB ]