The Iowa DEC Alliance is grateful to the group of medical practitioners, industrial hygienists, chemists, environmental specialists and researchers that comprise the National DEC Alliance's Medical, Scientific and Research Subcommittee.  To these individuals a great deal is owed for their endless hours of hard work and collaboration in developing the National Medical Protocol for children exposed to illicit drug manufacture, distribution or use in their home. 

Medical Protocol

National DEC Alliance Approved Medical Protocol - 2009 

Resources

• Screening for Perinatal Illicit Drug Exposure  The Iowa Perinatal Letter, July 2008 - Statewide Screening, Testing, and Intervention Standard for Perinatal Illicit Drug Exposure.  Link to the Iowa 2008 Guidelines for Perinatal Services.

• Rizwan Shah, M.D., FAAP, Drug Endangered Children: The Medical Effects Regional Child Protection Center, Blank Children's Hospital CPC, Des Moines, Iowa and President, Iowa Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

• Resmiye Oral, M.D., Drug Endangered Children and Neo-Natal Screening director of the Child Protection Program at the University of Iowa Childrens Hospital of Iowa, at Iowa City, Iowa.

• Ed Bottei, M.D.Health Hazards of a Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratory Medical Director of the Iowa Statewide Poison Control Center, State Medical Toxicologist for the Iowa Department of Public Health, and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at The University of Iowa.

• "In spite of all we do know about the potential effects of methamphetamine production on the community, there is still much that we dont know."  Read Dr. John Martyny's Testimony before Congress regarding the need for research concerning specific exposure hazards associated with illegal methamphetamine manufacture.  He testified, "If the exposures encountered in methamphetamine laboratories are not known, then it is difficult to properly educate personnel about the risks they may encounter when entering an illegal laboratory...Information regarding long-term effects in children is especially needed, since the knowledge of potential physiologic and psychological conditions resulting from these exposures in children may help in our treatment for these individuals."

• Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome - Neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) is a group of problems that occur in a newborn who had been exposed to drugs while in the mother’s womb.  There are a number of Internet resources devoted to this issue.   
  • http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/978763-overview
  • http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007313.htm

• Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)- FASD is an umbrella term describing the range of effects that can occur in an individual whose mother drank alcohol during pregnancy. These effects may include physical, mental, behavioral, and/or learning disabilities with possible lifelong implications. Learn more at the Fetal Alcohol Sepcturm Disorders Center for Excellence (a service of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - http://www.fascenter.samhsa.gov/

The Importance of Decontamination  

The methamphetamine manufacturing process involves highly toxic and explosive chemicals that release hazardous vapors and residue. The residue settles inside the structure, continuing to contaminate the premises until it is thoroughly decontaminated. Anyone entering a meth lab may be exposed to contaminants through respiratory or skin contact with the chemical vapors and/or chemical residue if safety precautions are not carefully followed, and may carry the contaminants on their skin, clothing and shoes spreading the contamination to their car, office and home.

Medical doctors believe that exposure to the toxic chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine can cause short and long-term health effects that vary depending on the amount and route of exposure and the chemicals involved. 

Doctors and scientists involved in the National DEC Alliance agree that children in meth labs should be decontaminated for their safety and, while they agree that there is much research that needs to be done concerning the precise health impacts, there is widespread support for taking precautionary measures that will protect children from the attendant harms of clandestine drug labs. There is active discussion on the nuances of this important topic and work is being done to determine the best protocol for the decontamination of children at meth labs.