dusts.org
← All dusts

Dust entry

Illicit heroin powder

Illicit heroin encountered as powder during controlled-substance laboratory handling and analysis.

Airborne form

dust

The form describes what is suspended in air at the point of exposure. A material can produce more than one form, such as dust during handling and fume during heating.

Health effects

occupational exposure concernrespiratory exposure concern

Evidence

A NIOSH HHE measured heroin in personal air samples, on employees’ hands, and on laboratory surfaces in controlled-substances laboratories.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 5 · Our Key Findings · 1
Some forensic laboratory chemists had detectable levels of cocaine (11 of 12), fentanyl (4 of 12), heroin (9 of 12), and methamphetamine (3 of 12) in their personal air samples. ... We found detectable levels of cocaine (13 of 13), fentanyl (9 of 13), heroin (13 of 13), and methamphetamine (9 of 13) on most employees’ hands before leaving the laboratory at the end of the day.

NIOSH recommends minimizing workplace exposure to heroin and other controlled substances and improving enclosed or ventilated handling spaces.

Source: pdf ↗ · saved source
page 8 · Recommendation 1: Reduce employees’ exposures · 1
We have no indication that the work exposures to cocaine, fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamine that we detected have impacted employees’ health. However, following sound occupational health practice, we recommend minimizing workplace exposures to controlled substances.

Controls