Chemicals Used for Illegal Purposes

Chemicals Used for Illegal Purposes helps hazmat professionals and others determine if chemicals at a suspicious site could be used to make illegal substances such as drugs, explosives, pyrotechnics, nerve agents, and other toxins. It profiles dangerous chemicals, covering their appearance, smell, incompatibilities, and identification tests. It features diagrams to assist responders in identifying illegal laboratories. This is a hands-on reference for crime scene responders, policemen, firemen, bomb squad members, drug enforcement officials, and others who need to be able to identify potentially hazardous materials and react quickly and appropriately.

Learn to identify chemicals used for illegal purposes while ensuring the safety of first responders and the general public

First responders who are not prepared to recognize specific chemicals on the scene may not know the intended use or possible dangers of the chemicals in question. This lack of knowledge can lead to disastrous consequences such as chemical combustion and exposure to poisonous substances. It is therefore critical for anyone who comes in contact with suspicious chemical caches, including police officers, bomb squad members, drug enforcement officials, chemists, government regulators, industrial hygienists, and hazardous waste disposal professionals, to be able to identify chemicals and their intended use.

Chemicals Used for Illegal Purposes provides an easy-to-use reference for professionals, enabling them to identify chemical substances and determine if they are being used for illegal purposes or to manufacture illegal substances such as drugs, explosives, pyrotechnics, nerve agents, and other toxins. A parent who might find a cache of chemicals in their child's possession, would have the knowledge to possibly prevent a catastrophic situation. The book is filled with practical information and features that enable readers to gather information and make determinations quickly and safely, including:

• Alphabetical list of the most common chemicals used for illegal purposes




• Detailed diagrams of both high-end and jury-rigged equipment to assist first responders in the recognition of an illegal manufacturing operation





• Profiles of dangerous chemicals, including their appearance, smell,incompatibilities, and identification tests

Written by an industry insider with extensive field experience dealing with hazardous materials sites, this book is filled with practical guidelines that not only enable readers to correctly identify illegal activities, but also ensure their own safety and the safety of the general public.

ROBERT TURKINGTON is the creator of the HazCat® Chemical Identification System, which has been used in at least five countries and in Antarctica for the identification of spilled or abandoned chemicals. He presently teaches classes in observational qualitative analysis, recognizing chemical weapons manufacturing, and atmospheric monitoring to federal agencies, including the EPA and the Army. Mr. Turkington was formerly the Senior Industrial Hygienist in charge of the Emergency Risk Assessment Unit, the Carcinogen Control Unit, and the Employee Right to Know Unit for the State of California, and on the faculty of the University of California Extension, teaching classes in 1910.12 and SW-846. He was the chief industrial hygienist for the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company, which at that time was the largest shipyard on the West coast of California. He has extensive experience identifying chemicals at Superfund sites.