GROW-OPS GONE

Two Area Houses Unfit For Humans

Occupants of two Edmonton-area houses have been told to pack up and
find new homes after the discovery of marijuana grow operations.

"In a lot of cases, these types of operations can be rental houses,"
Capital Health environmental health officer Warren Boychuk said yesterday.

"Anybody that's occupying these homes can be at risk to the various
physical, chemical and biological hazards that are associated with
marijuana grow operations."

Last month, Boychuk signed off on the documents ordering the
occupants of 55102 Range Road 235 in Sturgeon County to leave after
about 600 marijuana plants were found in the house and a detached garage.

"With a rural property like this, it's common with grow operations to
see water damage or mould," he said of the property deemed unfit for
human habitation on Feb. 17. "Any accumulation and improperly vented
moisture within the house - wall cavities, attic spaces, basement
crawl spaces - that have a large moisture concentration because of
the grow operation can result in poor indoor air quality.

"We can also see associated water-damaged building materials, which
may also pose as a structural hazard."

He said other hazards include large amounts of fertilizer and other
chemicals, various structural alterations and carbon-monoxide build
up due to exhaust vents of gas appliances such as furnaces and
hot-water heaters being left disconnected to let the plants absorb the gas.

Finally, many growers bypass proper electrical systems to power the
many powerful lights needed for a successful operation.

"You can have altered power lines and even secondary distribution
panels and transformers. There can be quite a bit of alteration to
the electrical system," Boychuk said of the lengths some criminals go
to. "You can have bundles of wires, hanging wires, exposed circuits
which can result in issues such as electrocution hazards,
entanglement, entrapment, as well as potential fire if they happen to
arc out improperly and there's combustibles around."

The day after the rural home was padlocked, a home - which was used
for a smaller-scale marijuana grow operation near 137 Street and 118
Avenue - was boarded up for similar reasons.