Evaluation of the health effects of occupational exposure of analytic laboratory workers processing illicit drug investigation files

Abstract

Introduction. The Analytic Laboratory of Israel Police processes illicit drug files. In recent years, workers of this laboratory have complained of health problems. Limited information exists on the effect of occupational exposure to illicit drugs; biomonitoring was never done. Objective. To assess health effects and systemic absorption of illicit drugs in workers of the Analytic Laboratory occupationally exposed to illicit drugs. Methods. A prospective cohort study using health and occupational questionnaires, clinical assessments, and monitoring of urinary excretion of illicit drugs was conducted. The study included three blocks of one week each. At each week workers were assessed at the beginning (baseline), and the assessments were repeated at the end of the three working days. Urine specimens were analyzed for illicit drugs in an independent laboratory. Demographic, clinical, occupational, and laboratory data were subjected to descriptive analysis, and paired Student's t-test, chi-square analysis, and repeated measures model. Results. Twenty-seven workers (age, 39.2 ± 8.3 years; 77.8% females) were included, yielding 122 paired samples. The following parameters were reduced at the end of shift compared with baseline: diastolic blood pressure (71.2 ± 11.2 and 77.2 ± 13.6 mmHg, respectively, p < 0.0001), FEV₁ (98.3 ± 14.6% and 100.7 ± 12.7%, respectively, p < 0.0001), FVC (101.4 ± 13.7% and 103.7 ± 14.0%, respectively, p = 0.003), and FEF_25–75 (85.7 ± 18.0% and 89.6 ± 18.7%, respectively, p = 0.01). Main health complaints included headache, fatigue, and dry eyes. No illicit drug was detected in the urine specimens. Conclusion. It is suggested that the health concerns of the laboratory workers were not related to the absorption of illicit drugs; environmental conditions (e.g. inadequate ventilation and respirable dust) can contribute to these concerns.

Keywords:

• Illicit drugs
• Laboratory
• Police
• Poisoning
• Occupational
• Forensic

Acknowledgments

We thank Preventive Action, Health Administration and Occupational Safety, Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor for supporting our study; Mrs. Vered Steiner of the Israel Poison Information Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, for coordinating the study; and Dr. Bianca Raikhlin-Eisenkraft of the Israel Poison Information Center, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, for reviewing and editing the manuscript.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no declarations of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

The study was supported by a grant from Preventive Action, Health Administration and Occupational Safety, Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade & Labor.