Is exposure to chemicals in a meth lab harmful?
While still in operation, or prior to a seizure, there is a high risk for acute exposure to harmful chemicals in meth labs. If you discover an active meth lab, do not attempt to enter. Contact your local law enforcement agency immediately. Many of the chemicals used in the cooking process can be harmful. Short-term exposures to high concentrations of chemical vapors that may exist in a functioning meth lab can cause severe health problems or even death. For this reason, meth cookers, their families, and first responders are at highest risk of acute health effects from chemical exposure, including lung damage and chemical burns to different parts of the body. Heating solvents inside a building can create a highly flammable situation; meth labs are often discovered when fire fighters respond to a blaze. After the police seize a meth lab, there is usually only a low exposure risk to chemical residues, but this contamination needs to be cleaned up. Also, properties often have serious sanit
