Risk assessment of individuals exposed to clandestine drug production

Methamphetamine is a toxic, addictive stimulant that affects many areas of the central nervous system. The manufacture of methamphetamine (meth) is a fairly simple process and is generally produced in clandestine laboratories. The propose of this research paper is to conduct a probabilistic risk assessment to evaluated the potential cancer and non-cancer health risk(s) posed to children and adults residing in meth lab homes. This research also evaluates whether firefighters, law enforcement officers and emergency medical personnel responding to meth lab homes are at an increased health risk(s) associated with exposure to chemicals used during the production of methamphetamine.;A two zone multi-compartmental indoor air model was designed to determine the indoor air concentrations of the chemicals used in the manufacturing of methamphetamine. The U.S. EPA Simulation Tool Kit for the Indoor Air Quality and Inhalation Exposure (IAQX) model was used to run the simulations developed in the multi-compartmental model. Indoor air sampling was conducted at the U.S. EPA Test House located in Cary, NC, to investigate the emission rates of three of the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) used in the manufacturing process of meth: toluene, acetone and naphtha. These results were then used to validate the scenarios run using the IAQX model and to conduct the probabilistic risk assessment.;A probabilistic risk assessment was conducted using Monte Carlo analysis to estimate the potential non-cancer and cancer health risk posed to individuals exposed to meth lab homes. The U.S. EPA test house parameters were used to represent a meth home lab. The health risk was assessed for six (6) exposure scenarios with the manufacturing of meth taking place in the front corner bedroom (FCBR) of the test house. The results show both a cancer and non-cancer health risk(s) to individuals exposed to chemicals used in clandestine meth home labs.