Two scientists, Edward Sisco and Matthew Staymates, from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) brought black lights and glow powder into a Maryland State Police crime lab with the hopes of studying the way that drug particles get spread around crime labs when chemists run their tests on suspected drug evidence.
The study was published in the journal, Forensic Chemistry, and its goal was to address safety concerns for lab personnel, especially as deadly drugs like fentanyl increasing in popularity. Even touching fentanyl can be deadly, so drugs like this pose a real hazard to the chemists that have to handle them.
The spread of drug particles is unavoidable, but the NIST scientists wanted to find out more about how it happens. They did so by making a brick of flour that was mixed with some fluorescent powder. Under normal lighting, the brick looked like any other brick of drugs, but under ultraviolet (UV) light, the brick glowed orange.
Amber Burns, the supervisor of the Maryland State Police forensic chemistry lab and a co-author of the study, examined the brick as she would drug evidence. She cut the package open, scooped out a small sample and placed the sample in a vial. Then she removed the powder from the packaging to weigh it. After she finished, the blacklight showed where the particles stuck to surfaces in her workspace. Particles also stuck to her gloves, a marker, and a bottle.
Burns cleaned her workspace after the test, and the blacklight showed her cleanup was effective in removing the particles. While all chemists clean their work area in between tests, the emergence of fentanyl makes that even more important, because fentanyl is often mixed with other drugs. As a result, labs need to be even more vigilant when handling potential drug evidence.
Based on the study, the researchers suggested ways of minimizing the spread of particles, including frequent glove changes, multiple sets of wash bottles, and using wide-mouthed vials and test tubes. "This is a great way for labs to see which of their practices contribute to the spread of drug residues, and to make sure that their cleanup routines are effective," Sisco said.