Worry over toxic fallout from drug labs
Residents are increasingly worried about the toxic fallout of illicit methamphetamine laboratories, with the ChemCentre saying it gets at least one query a fortnight about contamination testing.
Drug addicts often set up their makeshift factories in rented houses and flats and the dangerous waste produced from their chemical mix can pose health risks to future and nearby residents.
ChemCentre forensic chemistry manager Dominic Reynolds said the number of people wanting properties tested had jumped from almost none to at least one a fortnight since October.
The WA Health Department is co-ordinating a national review of the health risks posed by chemical contamination from clandestine labs. Last year, 141 labs were dismantled, 81 in residential properties.
For the past year, ChemCentre scientists have provided reports to the Health Department about drug laboratory sites they attend so the properties can be declared safe for habitation.
The ChemCentre, in Bentley, is holding an open day tomorrow between 10am and 4pm.Gabrielle Knowles
