Mark Tucker and EFT Holdings subsidiary Intelagard’s decon foam formulation. Photo: Randy Montoya |
Sandia National
Laboratories’ decontamination foam, developed more than a decade ago and used
to decontaminate federal office buildings and mailrooms during the 2001 anthrax
attacks, is now being used to decontaminate illegal methamphetamine (meth) laboratories.
Mark Tucker, a
chemical engineer in Sandia’s Chemical & Biological Systems Department and
co-creator of the original decontamination foam, said it renders all types of
typical chemical and biological agents harmless.
“For structures
contaminated with meth, owners have two choices: demolish it or reclaim it,”
said Kevin Irvine, vice president and general manager at EFT Holdings, which
licenses the Sandia formulation and sells it under two names, EasyDecon
DF200,
certified against chemical and biological agents, and Crystal Clean, intended for meth
cleanup.
The meth cleanup
problem is a big one. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA)
Clandestine Meth Lab registry lists thousands of locations in the U.S. where law
enforcement agencies have found chemicals or paraphernalia indicating the
presence of either clandestine drug laboratories or dumpsites.
In 2007, EFT released
Crystal Clean, a chemically identical formula to EasyDecon DF200, but packaged
and marketed specifically for meth cleanup. Sites contaminated with meth are
considered crime scenes, but the contamination is chemical rather than
biological. The approximately 700 remediation companies that clean up meth laboratory
contamination also do other types of crime scene cleanup because they are
accustomed to the sampling and documentation process.
Holding the bag
“Property owners are often liable for expensive cleanup costs since most
insurance companies won’t pay for cleanup related to methamphetamine, viewing
damage resulting from meth labs as arising from a criminal act,” Irvine said. “That means
that property owners and landlords are often left holding the bag for the cost
of remediating a residence or business contaminated as a result of meth
cooking.”
According to the
Department of Justice, the chemicals used to cook meth and the byproducts from
its manufacture, produce toxic fumes, vapors, and residues. The report said
anyone exposed to these byproducts, especially children, could suffer short-
and long-term health problems. Prolonged exposure to meth byproducts may cause
cancer; damage the brain, liver, kidney, spleen, and immunologic system; and
result in birth defects.
Tucker said many
cleaning methods don’t remove methamphetamine and the chemicals used to produce
it. Incompletely or improperly cleaned surfaces, such as floors, countertops,
and drywall, can remain contaminated for months or even years, even after many
cleanups.
Sandia’s decontamination
formulation includes a collection of mild, non-toxic, and non-corrosive
chemicals found in common household products, such as hair conditioner and
toothpaste. It contains both surfactants, which lift agents off a surface, and
mild oxidizers, which break down the agent’s molecules into nontoxic pieces
that can be washed down a household drain like detergent or dish soap.
Formulation left meth
nondetectable
In experiments from a few years ago, John Martyny, associate professor and
industrial hygienist at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center’s
Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences and a national
expert on the effects of meth exposure on children, compared the effectiveness
of common cleaners, such as detergent and bleach, on methamphetamine cleanup.
Martyny included Sandia’s decontamination formula in the testing. His
experiments showed that, after cleaning with EasyDecon, the methamphetamine
present on tested surfaces was likely oxidized to another compound and was
nondetectable.
Irvine said even if a meth site is known, it
doesn’t always mean it gets cleaned up, due to the expense. Some states don’t
have cleanup guidelines and don’t require homeowners to disclose whether a
structure is contaminated with meth. Some families have discovered they were
living in a house contaminated with meth only after family members were
hospitalized for respiratory problems characteristic of chronic meth exposure.
In the 22 states that
have guidelines, structures contaminated with meth are seized by police and the
structure is quarantined by a local or state agency (depending on the state)
until the structure is proven cleared of methamphetamine to a certain level.
During structure
remediation with Crystal Clean, a remediation crew removes everything from the
structure, including carpets and drapes, until the house is stripped bare
except for the fixtures.
The crew mixes the
Crystal Clean solution on site and sprays the foam on walls, ceilings and
floors. The foam expands to about 15 times its liquid volume through a special
nozzle that draws air into the spray, allowing it to reach contamination in
crevices and in the air. In an hour, it collapses back to a liquid. Using only
fresh water, rags, and sponges, the crew then removes the benign residue from
all surfaces.
After the site is
cleaned, an independent industrial hygienist tapes off a sample area in the
cleaned structure and takes a number of swipe samples appropriate for the
location size. The samples are treated as evidence, a formal chain of custody
is established and they are taken to an independent laboratory. The laboratory
runs the samples through a mass spectrometer to determine the level of
contamination.
Foam deployed as a
preventive measure
In most instances, Crystal Clean reduces the levels to .02 ?g/100 square cm
(microgram/sq. cm) or less, which is considered nondetectable.
Irvine said the Crystal Clean formula is
more expensive than other cleaners, but it saves greatly on labor costs and laboratory
costs because other cleaning solutions usually require more than one cleaning,
with a larger crew doing the cleaning and with costly sampling taking place in
between cleanings.
Another advantage of
this cleanup method, Irvine
said, is that some other methods are destructive or use more corrosive
substances and the resulting chemical residues are themselves toxic. Crystal
Clean is rendered nonhazardous and nontoxic, requiring only a surface wipe when
finished.
Sandia’s decontamination
formula was developed with funding provided by the DOE and NNSA Chemical and
Biological National Security Program (CBNP).
Sandia has also
licensed the DF200 formula to other firms, which have developed it for use in a
variety of applications, such as commercial and residential mold remediation,
disinfection of hospitals and schools, pesticide removal for farm equipment,
and military applications, including counterterrorism preparedness. The foam
also has been deployed as a preventive measure at presidential debates and a
political convention.
