Phosphine Exposure from a Methamphetamine Lab Investigation

Details

• Personal Author:
  Burgess JL
• Description:
  Law enforcement personnel may be exposed to a variety of hazardous materials during investigation of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories. A 28-year-old forensic specialist investigating a methamphetamine lab was exposed to phosphine without respiratory protection at approximately 2.7 ppm for 20-30 minutes. Shortly following exposure she developed dizziness, cough, headache, and diarrhea, although initial medical evaluation within 1-2 hours was unremarkable. Pulmonary examination at 4 and 7 days postexposure revealed bilateral rhonchi. The cough was worse with exertion, and persisted despite B-agonist and steroid inhaler treatment. This is apparently the first published case of symptomatic occupational phosphine exposure in a law enforcement officer during investigation of a methamphetamine laboratory. If phosphine exposure is suspected, the possibility of delayed pulmonary toxicity should be recognized. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Environmental Monitoring Hazardous Substances Laboratories Law Enforcement Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety
• Keywords:
  Exposure-assessment Exposure-levels Hazardous-materials Health-hazards Law-enforcement Law-enforcement-workers Occupational-exposure Occupational-hazards Occupational-health Pulmonary-system-disorders
• ISSN:
  0731-3810
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  165-168
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20031183
• Citation:
  J Toxicol Clin Toxicol 2001 Mar; 39(2):165-168
• CAS Registry Number:
  Phosphine (PH3) (CAS RN 7803-51-2)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2001
• Performing Organization:
  University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  19950701
• Source Full Name:
  Journal of Toxicology: Clinical Toxicology
• End Date:
  20060630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:3409d509c5d1b8256da9a34f18a664c97d169f5b4e961b4359a3e053a14aa182757696e17de4d20616743f6237e70544eed24beefc518790e05e94cf050d0961
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/191508/cdc_191508_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 349.20 KB ]