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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 08132002 - SD.5 To: BOARD OF SUF'ERVIsoRsContra FROM: Hazardous Materials Commission DATE: August 13 2002 Costa g , SUBJECT. Illegal Drug Lab Clean-up Policy ' county SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION: 1. ACCEPT the attached report from the Hazardous Materials Commission: 2. DIRECT the Hazardous Materials Programs and the Building Inspection department to develop a coordinated drug lab clean-up policy for the unincorporated areas of the County: 3. "REQUIRE the Hazardous Materials Programs and the Building Inspection Department to complete this effort within three months and report back to the Board of Supervisors with recommendations for proposed implementation. 4. REQUIRE the Hazardous Materials Programs'and the Building Inspection Department to report monthly on their progress to the Planning and Policy Development Committee of the Hazardous Materials Commission 5. 'REQUIRE the Hazardous Materials Programs to coordinate with the Building Inspection Departments' of the:Cities within Contra Costa County to establish programs within those jurisdictions as welt= and expand the current pilot program that is being conducted with the Cities of Antioch, Concord, and ' Pittsburg. BACKGROUND: The Hazardous Materials Commissions is very concerned about the potential exposures arta effects to current and future;residents of homes, hotel room and other dwellings that have been used t manufacture illegal drugs. Due to a number of factors currently present within today's society, an increase in the use and distribution of illegally manufactured drugs has been experienced over the recent years. According to California law enforcement agencies, the most commonly synthesized illegal drug currently produced is Methamphetamine (also commonly known as Crank or Speed). CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT'. _X, _YES SIGNATURE: RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE(S): ACTION OF B R Nus August 113, 20102 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED X OTHER X APS above rec ions; and DI—RWIMthe Sheriff and. the District Attorney be included in the development of a coordinated drug lab clean-up policy. VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS;IS A TRUE', AND CORRECT'COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN UNANIMOUS (ABSENT AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE AYES: NOES: SHOWN. ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTESTED CONTACT:Michael Kent(975)393-6587 JOHN'SWEE14N,CLERK OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR CC: BY i" DEPUTY The process of synthesizing and producing Methamphetamine involves several extremely hazardous chemicals and generates a number of potentially toxic residues, products, and wastes. Common waste materials typically include corrosive acids and bases,flammable solvents,;reactive chemicals, as well as other hazardous materials. Abandoned chemical products and/or drug product°°residues may also present significant health risks and hazards to individuals through exposures to surface residues and/or hazardous vapors when entering or unknowingly occupying a area previously used to manufacture such drugs. The:Hazardous Materials Commission<believes that Contra Costa County must have a stringent policy in place(similar to those which are currently in effect in Sacramento County)to ensure that premises that have been used in the manufacture and distribution of illicit drugs such as,methamphetamine are adequately inspected, assessed and remediated before they are reoccupied. The Commission understands that the County's Hazardous Materials Programs has developed a;draft Drug Lab Clean-up Policy. The Commission also understands that the County's Hazardous Materials Programs has taken initial steps in working with the County's Building Inspection Department to further refine and complete this draft policy. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact to develop the policy. The fiscal impact to implement the policy will depend on how it is structured. Hazardous Materials Commission'` Drug Lab Clean-up Policy Proposal August 13,2002 The Hazardous Materials Commission is very concerned about the potential exposures and health effects to current and future residents of homes,hotel rooms and other dwellings that have been used to manufacture illegal drugs. Due to a number of factors currently present within today's society, an increase in the use and distribution of illegally manufactured drugs has been experienced,over the recent years. According to California law enforcement agencies,the most commonly synthesized illegal drug currently produced is Methamphetamine (also commonly known as Crank or Speed). The process of synthesizing and producing Methamphetamine involves several extremely hazardous chemicals and generates a number of potentially toxic residues,products, and wastes. Common waste materials typically include corrosive acids and bases, flammable solvents, reactive chemicals, as well as ether hazardous materials. Abandoned chemical" products and/or drug product residues may also present significant health risks and hazards to individuals through exposures to surface residues and/or hazardous vapors when entering or unknowingly occupying a area previously used to manufacture such drugs. The Hazardous Materials Commission believes that Contra Costa County must have a stringent policy in'place'-(similar to those which are currently in effect in Sacramento County) to ensure that premises that have been used in the manufacture and distribution of illicit drugs such as methamphetamine are adequately inspected, assessed and remediated before they are reoccupied. The Commission understands`that the County's Hazardous Materials Programs has developed a draft Drug Lab-Clean-up Policy. The Commission also understands that the County's Hazardous Materials'Programs has taken initial steps>in working with the County's Building Inspection Department to further refine and complete this draft policy. Therefore,the Hazardous Materials Commission requests the Board of Supervisors, to • Direct the Hazardous Materials Programs'and the Building Inspection Department to develop and implement a coordinated drug lab clean-up policy for the unincorporated'areas of the County, • Require the Hazardous Materials Programs and the Building Inspection Department to complete this effort within'three months; and • Require the Hazardous Materials Programs and the Building Inspection Department to report monthly on their progress to the Planning and Policy Development Committee of the Hazardous Materials'Commission. The Commission also requests the Board of Supervisors to direct the Hazardous Materials Programs to coordinate with the Building Inspection Departments of the Cities within Contra Costa County to establish programs within those jurisdictions as well,and expand the current pilot program that is being conducted with the Cities of Antioch, Concord, and Pittsburg. The issue of drug lab contamination has concerned the Commission for several years. In June of 1999 a staff person from the County's Hazardous Materials Programs was invited to the Planning and Policy Development Committee of the Commission to present an overview of the method by which the County currently conducts drug lab clean-ups. Four key issues that were raised at that meeting which have been the Commission's focus ever since: • The need for a thorough and consistent procedure for assessing the extent of the contamination and developing a scope of work for the necessary' remediation. • The need for a consistentclean-up standard for remedial efforts. • The need for a failsafe procedure to track and verify that a site has been, appropriately remediated and "cleared" by a Certified Industrial Hygienist prior to reoccupancy: • The need to maintain information regarding such previous illegal,site activities, including site status and clearance reports (when completed),and to snake such information available to all future occupants and site owners as mandated under current real-estate disclosure statutes. Since that initial briefing,the Planning and Policy Development Committee has received a number of updates from Hazardous Materials Programs'staff, and briefings from staff from the State Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Sacramento'County Environmental Health Department. The Committee'has closely studied Sacramento County's successful clean-up protocols and the draft protocols developed by the Contra Costa County's Hazardous Materials Programs. As a result of this analysis, the Committee has come to the following conclusions about the issues identified above • The best approach to ensure a thorough and consistent procedure for assessing the extent of contamination and the scope of remediation necessary is to require the property owner to hire an independent Certified'Industrial Hygienist certified by the American Board of Industrial Hygiene to assess the site and develop a remediation plan. This should be carried out under the supervision of the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Programs. • The best approach to ensure a consistent standard is used to determine how clean a'site should be after remediation is to rely on the rcvieur of sampling data and the professional judgement of the Certified Industrial Hygienist hired to conduct the assessment. This will remain the case until such time as the State Department of Toxic Substances Control establishesclean-up standards. • The best approach to verify a site has been remediated before it is reoccupied is to utilize the current procedures enforced by the local Building Inspection Departments under their site abatement authority. The draft policydeveloped by the Hazardous Materials Programs generally follows the approach outlined above. At our June 27, 2002 meeting the Commission heard from Lew Pascalli,Hazardous Materials Programs Director, and Michael Angelo Silva, Chief of the Property Conservation Division of the Building Inspection Department, that they were working together to refine this draft policy. While there still seems to be a number of procedural,legal and fiscal issues for the two Departments to work out, we applaud their efforts to move forward on this issue in the timely manner outlined above. Once they have developed a policy for the unincorporated areas of the County, the Commission believes that the Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Programs should be able to use this policy as a model to establish programs with all of the Cities in the County.