Drug labs where people create meth and fentanyl are severe risks for first responders and everyone who comes in contact with them. Once these labs get shut down, it takes time and experience to clean them and make the area safe for people again.
If your property was previously a fentanyl or meth lab, the professionals at Scene Clean are here to help you get your property back to a safe and healthy environment.
Overview of Meth and Fentanyl
To understand why the cleanup process of a meth and fentanyl lab is so important and why professionals need to conduct it, you need to have a better understanding of what these drugs are.
Meth (methamphetamine) is a stimulant that is very addictive, thanks to the effects it has on the central nervous system. The two main ingredients people use to create meth can be harmful with heavy exposure on their own, but even more so when combined.
Fentanyl is an opioid that’s also highly addictive. Doctors previously used the drug to treat patients with chronic pain since it’s 100 times stronger than morphine. Since both drugs are highly addictive, having a professional team to clean up the scene is critical to the safety of everyone.
What Residue Remains After a Meth Lab Gets Closed?
Cleaning up a meth lab or fentanyl lab once law enforcement shuts them down involves much more than simply removal of all drug paraphernalia. Making meth involves using hazardous solvents like pseudoephedrine, which are a biohazard.
Once the lab gets shut down, it’s still not safe to enter without PPE. A dangerous chemical cocktail remains that contaminates almost everything in the room and nearby areas. Smoke, residue, and other particles are left in the air and on every surface in that specific room, even porous surfaces.
The residue can even seep into the building’s HVAC and plumbing which can contaminate the entire house or building.
The Dangers of Fentanyl and Meth Lab Cleanups
Once these types of drug labs get shut down, the cleanup process can begin. Knowing how addictive the drugs are is the main reason you’ll want to hire a professional team to handle the remediation.
Even if you’re not using the meth and fentanyl that were made in the lab, you’re still at risk when you expose yourself to these labs without proper protection.
Whether you’re coming in contact with these drugs via inhaling it, or by direct skin contact, it can lead to severe and long-term health issues and even death. Some of the dangers that meth and fentanyl lab cleanups pose include the following:
- Shortness of breath
- Difficulty breathing
- Coughing
- Increased risk of lung and other cancers
- Nausea and vomiting
- Headaches
- Liver damage
- Kidney damage
- Brain damage
When people have the proper safety gear, the risk of these health issues becomes reduced, which is why you never want to attempt to clean up a meth or fentanyl lab on your own. It’s best left to the professionals who will conduct the hazard cleanup efficiently and safely.
How the Cleanup Process Works
Getting your property back to a safe environment after the shutdown of a meth and fentanyl lab is an extensive process. From providing the cleanup team with proper protective gear to the actual cleanup, there’s a lot that goes into the process. The team at Scene Clean is prepared with knowledge and equipment-wise to get the job done.
All professionals who are on the meth lab cleanup team are required to wear level B or C personal protective equipment (PPE). Level B or C PPE provides reliable protection against respiratory and skin exposure hazards for those who enter the worksite after main raw materials have been cleared out.
Since no two drug labs are identical, there are no official federal guidelines on how to clean these labs. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a 19-step process they recommend for meth and fentanyl lab remediation. It’s a thorough process that takes time. Part of this 19-step cleanup process includes:
- Ventilating the room/property by opening windows and doors and using fans
- Removing all carpeting
- Removing all porous furniture
- Cleaning all non-porous surfaces like the floors, walls, and ceilings twice
- Cleaning all other items with a water-detergent solution to prevent further chemical reactions
- Flushing out all the plumbing
- Sealing, priming, and painting the ceiling and walls twice to contain all drug residue
Why You Should Hire Professionals for the Cleanup
Hiring highly trained professionals to conduct the meth and fentanyl lab cleanup is critical to getting the job done well and that the property is safe again. All technicians are required to have the knowledge and skills to decontaminate the scene safely.
These professionals hold certifications in drug and meth lab remediation. Their experience includes how to properly remove and dispose of hazardous materials and drug paraphernalia and the equipment people use to make the drugs.
Professionals with this knowledge will be able to remove the risk faster than you could and much more safely. When you attempt to clean up a potential drug lab on your own, you’re putting yourself and potentially others at risk for serious health issues.
If you believe or know that your property has suffered contamination by meth and fentanyl, the best thing you can do is call your local law enforcement and Scene Clean to allow them to neutralize the risk.
Scene Clean Is Here to Help
We don’t recommend anyone try to clean up a meth and fentanyl lab on their own. The dangers these labs possess mean that only trained and certified professionals who have proper PPE and knowledge should handle fentanyl or meth lab scene remediation.
If you suspect that your property is contaminated with meth and fentanyl, Scene Clean is here to help. We have a highly trained and professional remediation team that’s ready to conduct the entire cleaning process and get your space back to a safe environment. Contact us today if you need help with a fentanyl or meth lab cleanup.
