Police and other first responders may be exposed during busts of illegal marijuana- growing operations to dangerous levels of mold that could lead to potentially deadly respiratory diseases, researchers said Monday.
A team working with National Jewish Health researcher Dr. John Martyny reviewed conditions in 30 marijuana- growing operations in Denver, Littleton and Larimer County and found mold levels at times 100 times higher than considered safe and in a few cases so high that their instruments could not read the levels.
“These are pretty incredible exposures,” Martyny said during a news conference where the findings were reported. “These are extremely high levels that we would consider dangerous.”
The researchers, who worked with the Colorado Drug Investigators Association, the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, and County Sheriffs of Colorado, compared the environmental issues related to illegal pot growing to the boom in methanphetamine production a decade ago but with less exposure to dangerous chemicals.
Martyny and his team did similar research on meth labs in 2002.
None of the growing operations studied was a licensed medical-marijuana-cultivation operations, the researchers said.
Martyny said mold thrives because of constant watering and lack of ventilation, and many of the illegal operations are in homes with carpeting that retains moisture and allows mold to multiply.
Seventy percent of the busts, he said, had levels that would “be a sufficient concern for anyone who might live there.”
Children and people with compromised immune systems are especially at risk, he said.
Short-term exposure isn’t typically a reason to be alarmed, though officers with suppressed immune systems are especially at risk. Martyny said cops should wear protective gear, including respirators, especially when they are tearing down operations.
Levels of chemicals and fertilizers were also high in places where pot was growing illegally, but Martyny said many of the chemicals observed were “mostly nontoxic” when used properly. However, many of these were being used indoors.
Carbon-monoxide levels tended to be higher in more intricate growing operations because of modifications to water heaters and furnaces. The research also found increased risk of electrical fires.
Law enforcement leaders said they are grateful for the study — funded by a Justice Assistance Grant and money from the chiefs and sheriff’s associations — and will take safety measures to ensure the well-being of officers.
“The threat to the health and safety of our officers posed by these marijuana grows is a different kind of danger that we had not adequately considered,” said Barbra Roach, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration-Denver Division.
Jason Pohl: 303-954-1729, jpohl@denverpost.com or twitter.com/@pohl_jason
