The Health Risks of Belgian Illicit Indoor Cannabis Plantations

We assessed the prevalence of potential health hazards to intervention staff and cannabis growers in Belgian indoor cannabis plantations. Surface mold swab samples were taken at 16 Belgian indoor plantations contained mostly Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. However, their precise health impact on intervention staff and illicit growers is unclear as no molds spore concentrations were measured. Atmospheric gas monitoring in the studied cannabis plantations did not reveal dangerous toxic substances. Health symptoms were reported by 60% of 221 surveyed police, but could not be linked to specifi... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Vanhove, Wouter
Cuypers, Eva
Bonneure, Arne-Jan
Gotink, Joachim
Stassen, Mirna
Tytgat, Jan
Van Damme, Patrick
Dokumenttyp: Artikel
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Reihe/Periodikum: Vanhove , W , Cuypers , E , Bonneure , A-J , Gotink , J , Stassen , M , Tytgat , J & Van Damme , P 2018 , ' The Health Risks of Belgian Illicit Indoor Cannabis Plantations ' , Journal of Forensic Sciences , vol. 63 , no. 6 , pp. 1783-1789 . https://doi.org/10.1111/1556-4029.13788
Schlagwörter: Adult / Air Pollution / Indoor/adverse effects / Aspergillus/isolation & purification / Belgium / Cannabis / Carbon Dioxide/analysis / Dermatitis / Irritant/etiology / Dizziness/etiology / Drug Trafficking / Dyspnea/etiology / Edema/etiology / Female / Headache/etiology / Humans / Male / Middle Aged / Penicillium/isolation & purification / Police / Pruritus/etiology / Spores / Fungal/isolation & purification
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29358615
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://cris.maastrichtuniversity.nl/en/publications/af926093-a4c0-4e48-8b20-2325bff9b8b4

We assessed the prevalence of potential health hazards to intervention staff and cannabis growers in Belgian indoor cannabis plantations. Surface mold swab samples were taken at 16 Belgian indoor plantations contained mostly Penicillium sp. and Aspergillus sp. However, their precise health impact on intervention staff and illicit growers is unclear as no molds spore concentrations were measured. Atmospheric gas monitoring in the studied cannabis plantations did not reveal dangerous toxic substances. Health symptoms were reported by 60% of 221 surveyed police, but could not be linked to specific plantation characteristics. We conclude that Belgian indoor cannabis plantations pose a potential health threat to growers and intervention staff. AS there are currently no clear safety guidelines for seizure and dismantling of Belgian indoor cannabis plantations, we recommend first responders to follow strict safety rules when entering the growth rooms, which include wearing appropriate personal protective equipment.