Abstract
Clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) have been emerging and increasing as a public health problem in Australia, with methamphetamine being the dominant illegally manufactured drug. However, management and remediation of contaminated properties are still limited in terms of regulation and direction, especially in relation to public and environmental health practice. Therefore, this review provides an update on the hazards and health effects associated with CDLs, with a specific look at the management of these labs from an Australian perspective. Particularly, the paper attempts to describe the policy landscape for management of CDLs, and identifies current gaps and how further research may be utilised to advance understanding and management of CDLs and inform public health policies. The paper highlights a significant lack of evidence-based policies and guidelines to guide regulatory authority including environmental health officers in Australia. Only recently, the national Clandestine Drug Laboratory Guidelines were developed to assist relevant authority and specialists manage and carry out investigations and remediation of contaminated sites. However, only three states have developed state-based guidelines, some of which are inadequate to meet environmental health requirements. The review recommends well-needed inter-sectoral collaborations and further research to provide an evidence base for the development of robust policies and standard operating procedures for safe and effective environmental health management and remediation of CDLs.
Highlights
Background and introductionClandestine drug laboratories, i.e. ‘‘the illicit production of drugs or drug precursors within an improvised laboratory environment’’ [1], have emerged as a public health problem in developed countries worldwide
This review has found that, whilst Clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) are an emerging environmental health issue in Australia, several gaps in policy and guidelines were identified, indicating a strong need for rigorous research
General roles of environmental health officers (EHOs), other agencies and property owners and the decision-making process for remediation of clandestine drug laboratory sites from the discussion to indicate that research is needed at the local level to inform the development of effective interventions and policies for management of CDLs in Australia
Summary
Clandestine drug laboratories, i.e. ‘‘the illicit production of drugs or drug precursors within an improvised laboratory environment’’ [1], have emerged as a public health problem in developed countries worldwide. According to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) [2] report, the majority of clandestine drug laboratories (CDLs) detected (*99 %) manufactured amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), with limited data available on the manufacturing of other forms of illicit drugs in illegal laboratories. This is similar to Australian trends, with pseudoephedrine and ephedrine being the most commonly used precursors in the production of methamphetamine within the ATS group [3]. It has been suggested that chronic or acute exposure to chemical components and/or by-products of methamphetamines may result in long-term health effects in both adults and toddlers and that disposal of hazardous waste from the ‘‘cooking’’ process can lead to harmful effects on the environment [11, 12]
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