Fentanyl complicates hazmat cleanups
A hazmat team dressed in full protective gear spent Monday cleaning up a Duncan home where fentanyl was found during a major drug bust.
It’s an increasingly common situation for the Sidney-based B.C. Hazmat Management Ltd., which is called out time when even the smallest trace of fentanyl is found in a home or public space.
The company is used to dealing with chemical spills and meth labs, but the prevalence of the powerful opioid has created a new challenge for the team. It’s now responding to fentanyl-related calls once or twice a month, said company spokesman John Espley. “It just keeps increasing,” he said.
The team was called to the home on Rockridge Road after Duncan/North Cowichan RCMP found fentanyl during a drug bust on July 8. The discovery led to a response by the RCMP’s clandestine laboratory team, and the home was sealed off until the hazmat team could come in.
Hazmat workers found traces of fentanyl in the upstairs bedroom, Espley said.
The workers are covered head to toe with breathing apparatus and rubber boots to ensure that even shoelaces are not contaminated. They vacuum, clear away dust and use special chemicals to make sure surfaces are spotless, Espley said.
“If you touch the tiniest amount, it can go through your skin and kill you,” Espley said.
The hazmat team, which works all over the Island, is typically called by police after a drug bust where fentanyl is suspected.
The team has even been called to clean up human feces in a public space because if the potent opioid is present, it could kill animals.
B.C. Hazmat Management is a private company with seven permanent staff and a team of contractors who can be called in the event of an emergency.
Last year, RCMP released a video of Kamloops Mounties who became sick after they came into contact with fentanyl during a drug seizure. Espley said first responders and anyone who carries a Naloxone kit, which reverses the effects of an opioid overdose, is trained to use gloves for protection.
“Now [the police] call us in when there is even the slightest indication [of fentanyl] because it’s just too risky,” Espley said.