NCJ Number
140132
Date Published
1992
Length
5 pages
Annotation
National Guard personnel may be in extremely hazardous situations during joint counterdrug operations involving clandestine drug laboratories.
Abstract
Such personnel may be subject to death or serious long- term injury if appropriate policies and procedures are not followed in handling dangerous chemicals commonly found in clandestine laboratories. National Guard personnel should not be allowed to enter a clandestine laboratory unless they have received special entry team training in a program of instruction approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration. This training is essential because explosions are frequently caused by improperly handling chemicals used to manufacture illegal drugs. Many chemicals used in clandestine laboratories are listed as extremely hazardous by the Environmental Protection Agency, and military protective clothing and masks do not provide adequate protection. Policies and procedures to deal with clandestine drug laboratories vary wide among drug law enforcement agencies (DLEA's), but DLEA's experienced in clandestine laboratory operations should only allow specially trained teams to go inside a lab. Until they can confirm that DLEA's have adequate experience with clandestine laboratory operations, State National Guards should become intimately familiar with the associated hazards and necessary precautions before approving requests to support DLEA's.