TY - JOUR
T1 - Surface Contamination Generated by "one-Pot" Methamphetamine Production
AU - Ciesielski, Austin L.
AU - Wagner, Jarrad R.
AU - Alexander-Scott, Marissa
AU - Smith, Jerome
AU - Snawder, John
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank Paige Fisk and McCayla Lopez for their work in collecting surface swab samples, running LFIAs, and recording results during this research. The authors would also like to thank Dr. Allison Veitenheimer and Mr. Andy Farmer for their participation in the production of methamphetamine. The research was supported by the U.S. Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice, Interagency Agreement 2016-DNR-5470 through the Savanah River National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Aiken, South Carolina (David Pretorius, PI). Opinions or points of view expressed in this article represent a consensus of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Any products and manufacturers discussed in this article are presented for informational purposes only and do not constitute product approval or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Justice or the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 American Chemical Society.
PY - 2021/1/25
Y1 - 2021/1/25
N2 - Methamphetamine production is the most common form of illicit drug manufacture in the United States. The "one-pot"method is the most prevalent methamphetamine synthesis method and is a modified Birch reduction, reducing pseudoephedrine with lithium and ammonia gas generated in situ. This research examined the amount of methamphetamine surface contamination generated by one-pot syntheses or "cooks", as well as the effectiveness of hosing with water as a simplified decontamination technique, to assess associated public health and environmental consequences. Concentrations of methamphetamine contamination were examined prior to production, after production, and after decontamination with water. Contamination was qualitatively field screened using lateral flow immunoassays and quantitatively assessed using a fluorescence covalent microbead immunosorbent assay. Following screening, 0 of 23 pre-cook samples, 29 of 41 post-cook samples, and 5 of 27 post-decontamination samples were positive. Quantitatively, one pre-cook sample had a methamphetamine concentration of 1.36 ng/100 cm2. Post-cook and post-decontamination samples had average methamphetamine concentrations of 26.50 ± 63.83 and 6.22 ± 12.17 ng/100 cm2, respectively. While all one-pot methamphetamine laboratories generate different amounts of waste, depending on the amount of precursors used and whether the reaction vessel remained uncompromised, this study examined the surface contamination generated by a popular one-pot method known to law enforcement. By understanding the amount of surface contamination generated by common methods of one-pot methamphetamine production and the effectiveness of decontamination techniques used to remediate them, health risks associated with these production sites can be better understood and environmental contamination can be mitigated.
AB - Methamphetamine production is the most common form of illicit drug manufacture in the United States. The "one-pot"method is the most prevalent methamphetamine synthesis method and is a modified Birch reduction, reducing pseudoephedrine with lithium and ammonia gas generated in situ. This research examined the amount of methamphetamine surface contamination generated by one-pot syntheses or "cooks", as well as the effectiveness of hosing with water as a simplified decontamination technique, to assess associated public health and environmental consequences. Concentrations of methamphetamine contamination were examined prior to production, after production, and after decontamination with water. Contamination was qualitatively field screened using lateral flow immunoassays and quantitatively assessed using a fluorescence covalent microbead immunosorbent assay. Following screening, 0 of 23 pre-cook samples, 29 of 41 post-cook samples, and 5 of 27 post-decontamination samples were positive. Quantitatively, one pre-cook sample had a methamphetamine concentration of 1.36 ng/100 cm2. Post-cook and post-decontamination samples had average methamphetamine concentrations of 26.50 ± 63.83 and 6.22 ± 12.17 ng/100 cm2, respectively. While all one-pot methamphetamine laboratories generate different amounts of waste, depending on the amount of precursors used and whether the reaction vessel remained uncompromised, this study examined the surface contamination generated by a popular one-pot method known to law enforcement. By understanding the amount of surface contamination generated by common methods of one-pot methamphetamine production and the effectiveness of decontamination techniques used to remediate them, health risks associated with these production sites can be better understood and environmental contamination can be mitigated.
KW - decontamination
KW - immunoassay
KW - methamphetamine
KW - one-pot
KW - surface contamination
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85098751325&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.chas.0c00078
DO - 10.1021/acs.chas.0c00078
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85098751325
SN - 1871-5532
VL - 28
SP - 49
EP - 54
JO - Journal of Chemical Health and Safety
JF - Journal of Chemical Health and Safety
IS - 1
ER -