⋅Deadly Drugs, Rotting Corpse Found in Lethal Meth Lab⋅
Before any meth lab can be safely inhabited, it must be thoroughly and professionally cleaned and decontaminated because the chemicals used to manufacture meth are volatile and lethal. They leave the entire structure and all of its furnishings contaminated long after the chemicals themselves are removed from the premises by law enforcement. That’s because the chemicals permeate the structure itself and all of its furnishings. Meth is one of the most deadly drugs, with the combined dangers of the production of the drug and the havoc its use wrecks on the human body and the environment.
According to the EPA, simply smoking meth contaminates a structure and its furnishings.
Because of its rating as one of the most deadly drugs, under no circumstances should a layman even enter a former meth lab, much less attempt to clean one up. EPA guidelines state that no one should enter a former meth lab unless the individual has the proper training in bio-hazardous waste and the proper PPE (personal protection equipment), which includes filtered respirators.
Plus, you never know what other lethal and horrific bio-hazard, on top of the toxic chemical contamination of the home, you might find inside.
This meth lab to which we were recently called, located in a nice, middle-class suburb near Tampa, Florida, had been a very large and lucrative operation, we were told.
It also presented two lethal bio-hazards: in addition to the toxic chemical contamination of the home resulting from the production of the deadly drugs, a decomposing body was found inside, not such an unusual occurrence, considering the kind of business transacted in a meth lab and the kind of clients who frequent a meth lab.
This was a job strictly for professionals, which the owner of the home quickly recognized. He had unwittingly rented the home to a young “professional” couple who used the home’s spacious kitchen and dining room to cook and sell meth, and the homeowner now faced devastating destruction and financial loss. Our goal was to minimize the impact of this loss for him.
Serious Bio-hazard #1: Meth Contamination
In a previous blog, we discussed in detail why meth labs are so dangerous and what is involved in decontaminating them. The surfaces in a home used to cook meth, surfaces like floors, walls, countertops, and furniture, are contaminated with the lethal chemicals used in making the deadly drugs. The chemicals commonly used to produce meth include battery acid, drain cleaner, engine starter, lithium batteries, anhydrous ammonia, lye, gun-cleaning solvent, gasoline additives, lantern fuel, insecticides, and antifreeze, all of which are corrosive, explosive, flammable, toxic, and possibly radioactive.
Serious Bio-hazard #2: Bodily-Fluids
When authorities discovered this particular meth lab, it had been abandoned by the tenants, who were now on the run.
In their haste to escape prosecution and certain prison sentences, although they took the deadly drugs, they had left most of the lethal chemicals used in its manufacture behind, which the police confiscated and removed. They had also left behind a rotting corpse, which had decomposed on a filthy mattress in a dirty bedroom. The body, already removed by the medical examiner when we arrived, had been in an advanced stage of decomposition and had apparently burst open under the pressure of the gasses produced during decomposition. When we arrived, the stench of death was unbearable even before we entered the home.
The body belonged to a dealer of the deadly drugs who, we learned from media sources, had one gunshot wound to his head. He had stolen from the couple who lived in the home and was most likely killed by the couple.
The mattress was saturated and still soaking wet from bodily fluids, fecal matter, urine, gastric contents (partially digested food), blood, tissue, and remnants of what clearly were the man’s intestines. This grisly mess had seeped onto the filthy carpet and soaked through it. The entire room had to be cordoned off and thoroughly decontaminated. It was a cesspool of pathogens. All bio-hazardous waste left after the removal of the body had to be safely contained and disposed of. The carpet, padding, and most of the subflooring had to be removed, safely contained, and disposed of.
We still had to decontaminate the entire home of the chemical residues deposited by the production of the deadly drugs. The entire job took us three full days.
Professional Meth Lab and a Crime-Scene Decontamination
Advanced Bio Treatment strictly follows the EPA “Voluntary Guidelines for Methamphetamine Laboratory Cleanup” when we remediate a property that was a former meth lab. We also adhere to all OSHA, state, and federal guidelines. We also strictly adhere to all EPA, OSHA, and state guidelines when dealing with bio-hazards such as bodily fluids and blood.
This homeowner could easily have suffered a total loss of his home to the critical bio-hazards of meth together with the complications of a decomposing body. Advanced Bio Treatment was able to completely decontaminate the home and restore it to a safe, inhabitable environment. His cost for this cleanup was a fraction of the cost of losing his home entirely through an inadequate, unsafe cleanup attempt.
Should you ever find yourself in the shocking position of having your property used as a meth lab, please trust the professionals at Advanced Bio Treatment. Protect future inhabitants of your home, protect your investment, and protect yourself. Call Advanced Bio Treatment at 800-295-1684 for a free quote.
For More on Meth Lab Cleanup:
