Occupational Exposure to Methamphetamine in Workers Preparing Training Aids for Drug Detection Dogs

Abstract

As a part of ongoing testing of personnel preparing training aids for drug detection dogs at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Regional Forensic Laboratory, personnel handling methamphetamine (MTH) were subject to voluntary urine drug testing. This provided a model of potential unwitting or environmental exposure contribution to MTH concentrations in urine. Urine samples were collected from multiple individuals on the day before, the day of, and the day after the individuals had handled up to 500-g quantities of MTH during the assembly of training aids. Personnel wore gloves, dust masks, and lab coats during the preparation of training aids. A total of 101 urine samples were analyzed for the presence of MTH and amphetamine (AMP) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry after solid-phase extraction and derivatization. Urine samples collected during and after personnel handled drug yielded a mean MTH concentration of 48 ng/mL with a maximum concentration of 262 ng/mL and a minimum detected concentration of approximately 1.6 ng/mL. Thirty-five of the 52 post drug-handling samples had detectable MTH. Ten of the samples had MTH concentrations above the method limit of quantitation of 15 ng/mL. Only one sample had a concentration greater than 50 ng/mL. None of the samples had detectable AMP. From this limited study, it was evident that handling of MTH under these conditions resulted in minimal exposure and small but detectable concentrations of MTH in urine.

Quantitative analysis of methamphetamine in hair of children removed from clandestine laboratories – Evidence of passive exposure?

“…It has been reported that urine samples from children are more likely to be positive for MA if collected within 6 h of the most recent exposure [3], with no child testing positive greater than 6.5 h after removal from exposure. Occupational exposure of laboratory workers handling large quantities of MA leads to low level positive urine samples, with levels in the urine that would not be deemed positive by most screening tests [4]. These subclinical doses are eliminated from the body rapidly but repeated subclinical exposure may accumulate in the hair.…”

Forensic Science

“…Amphetamine and related compounds were quantified in urine by GC/NPD or GC/ MS. (417). Methamphetamine was detected in urine samples when analyzed by GC/MS after SPE and derivatization (418). MDMA and related compounds were detected in hair, urine, and various postmortem specimens using extraction, derivatization, and GC/MS with deuterated analogues of the analytes as internal standards (419).…”

Urinary profiles of methoxyphenamine and its metabolite after inhalation of methoxyphenamine smoke in humans: aiming to distinguish between active and passive exposure

“…Clinical studies in which subjects actively inhaled METH smoke indicated that METH was detected in the blood and urine of the subjects [12,13]. In some cases, METH was detected in the urine of persons who had not ingested it [18][19][20]. These cases suggest that passive exposure to METH smoke may result in the excretion of METH and possibly its metabolites in urine.…”