Illicit Drug Residue Testing

ChemCentre is a leading authority on clandestine drug laboratory site risk assessment and remediation, and works closely with WA Police to identify, dismantle and analyse clandestine dug laboratories.

Clandestine drug laboratories are illegal operations where drugs are manufactured. Many of the chemicals involved in the manufacturing process are toxic, dangerous, highly flammable or explosive.

Not only are there chemical hazards related to the drugs manufactured, there are also chemical risks to occupants and neighbours during the manufacturing process.

Even after the removal of a clandestine laboratory, chemicals may remain on surfaces and furnishings. These residual chemical hazards mean the site continues to pose a health and environmental threat. The presence of clandestine laboratory residues inside a dwelling may result in the property being deemed unfit for human habitation.

Clandestine laboratory sites are treated as contaminated sites, posing potential health, financial and legal risks to inhabitants, property owners and managers. More information can be found on the WA Health website.

Please note that the only agency authorised to verify and approve the remediation of a property used for a clandestine laboratory is the relevant local government. We suggest that you contact your local Government Environmental Health Officer prior to undertaking any sampling, swabbing or remediation of a property.

Clandestine Laboratory Clean-up

ChemCentre is the only laboratory in Western Australia currently accredited for forensic drug analysis and licensed to handle illicit drugs; and is one of only three laboratories in Australia recommended in the Clandestine Drug Remediation Guidelines, set by the Australian Government.

ChemCentre offers testing and advisory services to the general community and local government authorities regarding the clean-up and remediation of clandestine laboratory sites. The size and nature of a clandestine laboratory can vary dramatically, so every site will be different. We therefore recommend that you seek advice from your local Government Environmental Health Officer about the number of samples to take and the areas to collect the samples from, prior to purchasing the sampling kits.

Sampling kits can be purchased from ChemCentre, these kits include swabs, gloves, packaging and labels as well as information and instructions for correctly swabbing an area. The kits also include a postage pack enabling the swabs to be forwarded directly to ChemCentre for analysis.

ChemCentre’s specialist drug chemists will undertake a comprehensive analysis of samples collected from a clandestine laboratory site for methylamphetamine, ephedrine/pseudoephedrine, MDMA (ecstacy). Additionally, we can also test for other illicit drugs or precursor residues that are associated with an attempted illegal drug manufacture (fees apply).

We will provide you with a full report outlining the results of our analysis to assist you with the clean-up of a clandestine laboratory contaminated site. Contact us now to purchase a sampling kit and discuss your testing requirements.

Illicit Drug Residue Testing

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